[AccessD] Is it just me?

[John Colby]

I think there are a variety of reasons, but often it starts with the fact
that the db is "home grown" by a person who isn't a developer.  This
creates a slew of problems starting with poor normalization, which leads to
problems with what belongs where and it snowballs.

I used tab controls to break out functionality and yet leave it visually
available on demand.  I even used subforms on tabs to deal with parent /
child stuff.  I even developed what I called "Just in Time Subforms" to
only load subforms on tabs when the user clicked on a tab so that the main
form loads fast, and equally importantly can move through records  quickly
without the overhead of subforms on tabs that the user has never looked
at.  And which also allowed me to decide whether to then unload a subform
when the user clicks off on another tab, again with the objective of
keeping the top level form feeling snappy.

So in a sense, the tab control is an answer. I found popup forms could be
problematic because of the whole focus issue.  Is the user allowed to click
away / modal etc.  I did use popups routinely for add / edit to list table
forms, where the user is editing data that I am displaying in a combo box
(for example).

On Wed, Mar 2, 2022 at 5:20 PM Susan Harkins <ssharkins at gmail.com> wrote:

> Over the years I've watched PP presentations evolve under the mantra, less
> is more. However, I still see Access forms that are monstrous. Is it just
> me, or is it time to simplify the visual expectations? I find these busy
> forms with tons of tons of control so objectionable that I can't believe
> developers are still building them.
>
> I know it's subjective, but does anyone else wonder why these
> horrendous forms are still being put upon users?
>
> Susan H.
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-- 
John W. Colby
Colby Consulting