General layout forms

Attribute(s)

  • General Lay-out

    Description

    All forms must follow the general layout as described in the Details section below.

    Motivation

    By establishing and following a general layout for all forms, support and troubleshooting are greatly enhanced.

    Example / Details



    The following screen print shows an example how the standard form looks like:


    • Juergen Wege 11 Nov 2008 02:45:54 AM CSTSince tables do reduce speed in forms (see your own note in http://www.openntf.org/projects/BestPractices/BP.nsf/Pages/General_Settings_form_tables) I would recommend to NOT use tables in the hidden general sections on forms. In stead of using the performance for the table, I recommend to introduce 'standard sections' that use 'hide when' formulas based on values. This enables the Admin to make hidden areas visible (even on a per user basis) in case of trouble. Furthermore, to use red (specifically the used one) for hidden places is not a good idea that also Iris/Lotus failed with. The used red color ist one of the few colors that can be used by apps designers to inform the user about problems or significant fields. In the western world, red is a strong signal color that should be reserved for special purposes (where a standard entry of a form ist the genuine opposite). In my guidelines (I started with such books about 1995) therefore, I decided to use a light green for documentation and hidden things on subforms and a stronger green for forms itself. I chose a color that is almost not usable for application development. It is clear that this color has negative impact on readability. But the designer can easily select portions of the form and get a better contrast. I also recommend to use right-alignment for the section headers of documentation etc. to clearer distinguish between comments and 'the form itself'.

     29 Jul 2008  07:15:27 AM CDT  Pepijn Hammecher/AtosOrigin

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    Form_layout_guidelines.jpg
    Form_layout_design_screen.jpg
    Form_layout_std_screen.jpg