be made from a flat material or cover which is considerably larger than the operating field this makes it possible to construct an operating device such as an electrical appliance with one or more sensor elements and therefore also one or more operating fields in a cover or side wall thus an operating device constructed in this way can be integrated into such a wall and in particular also into an electrical appliance it is possible make the cover or its material thinner in the vicinity of the operating field than in other areas to this end it is possible to make material recesses on the underside by material removing methods or by deforming methods such as punching or stamping thus a wall which offers a hold or protection can be made thinner in certain zones or areas in order to locate the operating fields of an operating device one possibility for such a cover is a panel of an electrical appliance for example a front panel or frame an electrical appliance according to the invention has at least one operating device which corresponds to one of the above described constructions for this purpose the electrical appliance advantageously has an operating area at which the operating device is located with the one or more operating fields for example the electrical appliance can be a cooktop or stove with a side part which on at least one side can be in the form of a panel or an all round frame the operating device is integrated into said side part or frame for example with sensor elements located beneath the side part or frame these and further features can be gathered from the claims description and drawings and the individual.