> I guess I should have been using oncreate instead of
> formactivate, not an issue until you want modeless forms
Tell you the truth, I don't think I have ever used FormActivate in 5+ years
of Delphi programming <g>
> It forms a good application backbone, with a basic menu/user
> security system ready to use for the next project.
Thats might help programming but it may not be want the user wants though.
You could just create a template project with splash screen, help about box
etc & inherit all your apps from that.
> It's also very easy to use, sure, you only do one thing at a time with it
but
> it's very structured and you can force users to finish stuff, not leaving
> Queries etc open while they "click off" on other exercises.
Easy to use does not always mean good to use. Wizards are an example of
forcing the user to do one thing at a time in a sequence, and are a good
idea when doing something _infrequently_ (like installing software) but just
get in the way when doing a frequent activity like saving or printer.
I think it was Alan Cooper in 'About Face' that suggests that dialogs should
be treated like a separate room in a physical activity. If a user has to
move to multiple dialogs to perform some task then its like forcing somebody
to walk through 3-4 rooms in a house every time they want to make a cut of
tea.
There should be no great problems with leaving a (read only) query open, and
if is viewing changing data then refresh it when need be.
> > is there nothing on the dialogs that is common?
> I use Datamodules and some common functions/procedures but
> these are in separate units.
Sorry to go on about this (I hope my comments are seen as constructive & not
critical!), but I have worked with apps that share this (modal) design
approach & it bugs me from a purest UI approach.
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