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Below in my current GUI, I am not satisfied with it, it is a bit cumbersome I think. What I need is something simple yet flexible and powerful, I have used Janus on the Panel on the left side and just intrinsic controls on the right part. I know there is a huge room for improvement on it and I wish to know your inputs. Thanks you so much guys!
there are little smudges on it... i would fix that, dont think users would like that :)
i think it looks nice. all of the colors work well together. the 'Record Detail' area looks kinda bland. It needs something.
I am working on that right now... :afrog:Quote:
Originally Posted by dclamp
Perhaps I could also replace the Tabcontrol with something slicker, any suggestions on that is also welcome.
Model softwares (aside from Outlook) where I can derive ideas from would also be good.
what are the tabs for?
For inputting data, there is just too many that I have to use tabs...Quote:
Originally Posted by dclamp
well i like the tabs that are in Firefox 3. maybe you can find a 3rd party control to use.
also. why did you try to make it so we cant see the field names?
the best way to determine whether your GUI is good or not is how easy it is to navigate. consider for instance google 1 image 1 textbox and 2 buttons. The fact of the matter is slick generally means hard to use. To me you GUI seems fine. Most data entry applications are built the way yours is. I would sort the functionality out first then allow people to use it to gauge how effective it is. If they can use it with ease it will sell.
i totally agree. It looks fine to me.
No Menu bar?
The app is an Entrerprise level one which will be marketed across continents with stiff competition in the market so I wish to make it look and function at its best to gain some market, this is the most complicated application I will tackle and I really have to make it good.
I am actually migrating a foxpro app to C# and I want it to have the best in the winforms programming.
Further queries:
- I have another major query regarding presenting a 3-level hierarchy (parent, child, grandchild). For now I am using 3 listviews, one for each level, but it seems ugly at this point, I am not sure if I'll just use a treeview or something so any suggestions will be welcome also.
-In relation to the above query I wish to know how to keep the integrity of the records while simultaneously being edited, for instance the parent record is being edited and one of its child is also being edited, what course should I take in such case? I am actually looking at allowing only one editing at a time but it may not be flexible.
-This will be in multi-user environment and in 3-tier architecture where it can be across the internet or just over the LAN.
@dclamp:
I am not sure if I'll violate some agreements so I blurred the field names, anyway those doesn't matter.
If you are going to have your app competiting with those others then perhaps taking the best of each of them and making something better then the rest. I'm sure they have done alot of research on the GUI and features so you could save yourself alot of time and $ by using what works and dumping what doesnt from those apps.
Look at it from the usersview and why one would choose your app over the competition.
Perhaps I would proceed on the route of simplicity with efficacy, but still I wish to have an idea of what should be some cool features of my application that should have, I really have no time browsing all the demo's of the competition since they only have videos.Quote:
Originally Posted by RobDog888
Attached is the modified version for now but still I am not satisfied... :o
You dont have to install them but even with those videos you may be able to see their GUIs and features. Also features should be presented on their site or support / faq pages. Its never a good idea to just throw in features without hearing from your target audience on their needs.
I would be inclined to agree with robdog here. Most Software Dev's wonder why a rival companies software sells better then theirs even though the GUI looks better. The fact of the matter is if it is functional and easy to use your software will be very popular!
I am still after some specific cool and hot features of todays applications that I can integrate in my own application, I hope you guys could give me suggestions...
I like the original layout/look better still.
I decided to add a panel so I can add more search options/parameters without cluttering the top portion of the grid but perhaps you could suggest an alternative where I can add more search options without an additional panel?Quote:
Originally Posted by RobDog888
How about makeing an extra tab in th Janus control to contail the search panel?
That actually is the original design where the search options are situated in the first tab but it seems annoying when I have to search then I have to select the first tab, and as such the details of the record are hidden. Or are you implying another which I did not get?Quote:
Originally Posted by RobDog888
The left handed pane doesnt have to go all the way from top to bottom. You could split it so a short top portion would be for easy search access and still have an extra tab below for advanced searching
Whenever you design an app, it is important to remember there is a lot of brilliance in simplicity.
It's nice to have all the bells and whistles, but, when it really comes down to the meat of it, users want apps that are easy on the eyes, and easy to use. Heck, how do you think Windows became so popular in the first place?
A splash of color here and there is always nice, but you don't want your design to take attention away from the functionality.
I can tell you this. Where I work, we have quite a few 3rd party apps we use and they are all very basic, but professional looking. I always look at those apps when I'm trying to get design ideas for new apps (usually for internal customers).
KISS. Live it.