Board index » delphi » Re: UI Design

2004-08-26 11:49:45 AM
delphi234
"eshipman" <mr_delphi_developer@yahoo!!!.com>writes
Like the original poster, I am looking for an efficient (and attractive)
method to present the user with a massive amount of data per (in my case)
loan.
Mr Nieuwkerk's screen shots are gorgeous, but the paradigm is not workable
for my application. I have looked at the Developers Express cosmetic model
and, IMO, if you have many panes of information, the outlook bar becomes
even more cumbersome than a tabbed notebook.
If I were to start over again, I'd do something like this:
www.delphicorp.com/Discovery_Main.htm
Not extremely elegant, but not *{*word*82}ugly*, and very effiecient.
 

Jeffrey Miller writes:
it was (not to mention just plain correct).
Hmm...Imagine if Delphi (Discovery, that is) was written in VB. :-)
--
Cheers,
David Clegg
dclegg_at_ebetonline_dot_com
Vote 1 cc.borland.com/codecentral/ccweb.exe/listing :-)
Now supports Google Groups searching with Dyna-extend(tm) technology!
QualityCentral. The best way to bug Borland about bugs.
qc.borland.com
"Weaselling out of things is important to learn. it is what separates us
from the animals. Except the weasel." - Homer Simpson
 

Jeffrey Miller writes:
I also question the "efficiency" of the example you link to above. It
still just dumps a zillion fields at the user's feet and expects them
to figure out what to do with them all. How does that help them get
their job done better? They would still need a "mentor" present to show
them what fields to change to accomplish a certain goal, until they
themselves had become a "mentor".
I think the answer to your information overload lies in task-based
design. Have the system starts by asking the user *what* they are doing
(ie why did they launch the app), then filter out everything that
doesnt relate to that paticular use of the app. Even better - figure
out the order they need the fields in for that task and present them to
the user in that order.
I'm not going to go so far as to mention the "W" word, as you
clearly(?) have too much info for that, but do have a look at how MS
Money handles bulk information in a step-by-step, task oriented fashion.
Cheers,
Andrew
 

"Craig van Nieuwkerk" writes:
Craig is it possible for me to download a trial/crippleware version to
actually get the (working) feel of it. It really looks good.
Thanks
 

"Craig van Nieuwkerk" writes
 

What is your email address?

replace "someplace" with "isanusi"
 

Craig,
Is the right hand window done by using frames? I have always wondered
what is the best way to approach an application look like this.
Alan
 

I was wondering that myself. But Delphi Discovery seems to be written in
Power Builder.
If you read the about section, you see that they have been around for many
years, if you belive everything you read.
If you follow the update links, then 'How to create Custom Screens for
Delphi Discovery (VB5)', you will see that they indicate they use power
builder.
Too Bad.
Edwin
"David Clegg" <XXXX@XXXXX.COM>writes

Abdullah Kauchali writes:
this by having the outlookbar on the left; also a sliding panel; and
then I create the pages of the pagecontrol dynamically. The lists
descend from a base frame (TFrame) where most of the navigation and data
management resides.
--
Cheers,
Phillip Flores
"Keep track of those project times...use VeriTime"
www.pcfworks.com
 

"Andrew" <XXXX@XXXXX.COM>writes
devloped set of components for it (special scroll box and collapsible
panels).
Application have a set of outlook bars activated from menu for main
navigation.
Data pages with collapsible panels diplayed in "tabbed viewer".
I developed special navigation control for collapsible panels which includes
in addition to "expand/collapse all" also "go next/prev", "go last/first"
and "viewing mode" - panels can be collapsed/expanded freely in one mode, in
another mode only one panel can be expanded, rest automatically collapsed;
there is also special menu, which allow direct access to data sections (menu
displays panels headings).
 

In article <opsc93tmf9luzw3z@vole>, XXXX@XXXXX.COM
says...
visibility for both.
I think most users turn off the bar and use the tree as each new object
gets a separate treenode.
 

Andrew writes:
market is already a bunch of domain experts, they're likely to
*want* to see all this information at once. If your market is the
occasional user, the higher-level reviewer/manager, or full of
newbies, then a step-by-step mechanism might be better.
The whole idea of wizard-based interfaces is to make simpler task
completion available for the latter class, while allowing
experienced users to get down & dirty really quick.
There's also the "what they're used to" problem. If all the other
loan apps are busy and crowded, an elegant screen might be "too
simple", or "I can not see all the data", and therefore dismissed out
of hand.
FWIW, I don't think MS Money tries to appeal to accountants. It's
for home use, so it is simple & cute. People who live in that world
are probably happier with something that takes fewer mouse clicks
to operate.
-Brion
 

"Andrew" <XXXX@XXXXX.COM>writes
don't understand. Are there fields on the screen that require further
definition.beyond hints? All the fields on the screen are required to
produce the necessary documents. Would it somehow benefit the user to
spread them across more tabs or Outbar panels?. These folks do not want to
operate in "beginner mode" as Mr Le Conte put it.
are visible. All the data entry screen adjust according to the type of
Account, Loan and Interest Rate. There is this window
216.17.84.107/CheckList.jpg that guides the user through process. It
also adjusts itself to the parameters of the account. The fields presented
to the user are specific to their task.and there are still a zillion
of a beautiful beginners mode app. If entering data was part of what I did
for a living, I wouldn't want the system flow that way.
 

On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 08:22:52 +1000, "Craig van Nieuwkerk"
<XXXX@XXXXX.COM>writes:
VERY GOOD!
By(t)es!
Marcelo Montenegro