Menu Forms - Annoying Problem

[rtbtat]

I realize there are workarounds for the issue I�m going to describe below. However, I�m not interested in a workaround, so please save yourself the time and energy it will take to come up with one. I just want to know if others have the same problem or if I�m doing something wrong.

If I�m not doing something improper, and there�s nothing wrong with my system, is this something Alpha developers can fix quickly and easily?

Many of my applications were created for personal use. Since I can quickly navigate through Alpha on my own, most of the time, I didn�t create a main menu screen. However, in the past couple of weeks, I decided to add a Main Menu form to all of my personal database apps. They�re all virtually identical, each one is relatively small and is displayed in the center of the screen.

That�s the good news, here�s the bad news. When I click on a Main Menu option, which of course takes me to a data entry form [usually maximized], do whatever I have to do on the data entry form, close the form, and then return to my Main Menu form, things have somehow changed.

Instead of being centered the way I left it, the form is almost always displayed in �FULL SCREEN� mode. It�s as if my little menu form inherited the properties of the data entry form, which was maximized. The text is displayed in the upper left hand corner of the screen and it looks extremely tacky.

I can of course click on the little box in the upper right hand corner and that will resize the main menu form, once again returning it to it�s original position, centered on the screen. I realize this is not the greatest issue facing Alpha users, but I must admit it is very annoying.

Any comments or suggestions that do not involve work around?

Thanks,
Robert T

[Peter.Greulich]

RE: Menu Forms - Annoying Problem

Robert,

I believe this is how Alpha has always worked. Each subsequent opened form "inherits" the window state of the previous - either maximized or restored. Except of course, dialog & popup forms.

Peter

[Lenny Forziati]

RE: Menu Forms - Annoying Problem

This is how all windows programs work. Go into your email program, open your inbox not maximized, open a message, maxamize it, then close it - the end result is a maximized inbox. This is the Microsoft document interface.

As you mentioned, there are work-arounds. Theses work-arounds change the standard Windows' behavior, not Alpha's, by taking advatage of the flexability that Alpha provides.

-Lenny

[rtbtat]

RE: Menu Forms - Annoying Problem

OK Lenny, you do realize how spoiled long time Alpha users are, don�t you? You guys are always creating ingenious little methodologies that make our lives so easy. So please keep that in mind when you read my question.

Is there a way to implement a simple little checkbox in Alpha when you create a form that tells the form to ignore the traditional Windows methods?

Robert

[Robert Picard]

RE: Menu Forms - Annoying Problem

Hi Robert

Yes we have all come up against this early on so we have already spent the time addressing this. I am sure most users on this board has one they could share with you.

So don't reinvent the wheel. You just have to ask and you would get a smorgasboard of solutions to choose from.

Robert

[Peter.Greulich]

RE: Menu Forms - Annoying Problem

I'm not sure about current versions of Quicken, but I know previous versions of Quicken allowed some forms to be maxed while others were "restored" simultaneously or subsequent to each other. Basically, Q would remember the state of each form's window and use that the next time you loaded that form.

Peter

[JerryBrightbill]

RE: Menu Forms - Annoying Problem

Robert

This is a very old annoyance and has been discussed many times on the forum. Most of the workarounds Lenny mentioned have been posted and discussed. Another option to a menu form is found in the Alpha Sports database. The Navigation Toolbar is a nice aternative to a menu form. This eliminates many problems, although it does take a little window space.

Jerry

[russ Boehle]

RE: Menu Forms - Annoying Problem

The workaround for this is to use action scripting, window commands, position, and then check the box to fill the client window without maximizing. then the next window will not be maximized, but will be whatever you have set it for.

Russ

[rtbtat]

RE: Menu Forms - Annoying Problem

I appreciate the helpful comments, but if you read the first paragraph of my post, you would have noted that I did NOT ask for any work around suggestions.

Robert T.

[whanigsberg]

RE: Menu Forms - Annoying Problem

Hi Robert,

Alpha has provided a good method for dealing with this feature of windows.

You begin with your menu centered and "restored"--that is, not maximized. A menu button calls your maximized data entry form and leads to the problem. The answer is to not maximize the data entry form. In form properties provides the "full" setting which adjust the form to fill the screen while technically being restored. Since the form is restored, when you reopen (or reactivate) the main menu it will be as well.

I don't know if this is a "workaround." To me it is more like a solution. Write back and tell me what you think.

Bill

[whanigsberg]

RE: Menu Forms - Annoying Problem

Sorry for duplicating a previous suggestion.

[rtbtat]

RE: Menu Forms - Annoying Problem

Hi Bill:

[Write back and tell me what you think.]

I think I made it very clear in the first paragraph of this thread that I was not asking for any work-arounds or suggestions. I don't want to sound unappreciative of the suggestions because I do think that kind of spirit is what makes this discussion board so very special.

However, I was already very much aware of those suggestions mentioned by you and others. My primary concern was the question I asked Lenny, can Alpha's software engineers create a simply checkbox that would eliminate this issue.

Bill, I also realize this is probably at the bottom of their priority list as isn't a critical issue. But it was on my mind because I spoke with another Alpha developer over the weekend, we were discussing this very issue and wondering why it's never been addressed, or even if it could be easily resolved. That's why I specifically asked other users to avoid coming up with work-arounds. But I guess coming up with solutions on this board is hard to avoid [LOL].

Robert T.

[Jim Chapman]

RE: Menu Forms - Annoying Problem

Hello Lenny and All,

Forgive me for jumping back in here. This is one of my pet peeves. IMHO, we are not dealing with a word processor program or any other generic app. We are, for the most part, creating our own UI. This little issue is a bigger pain than it should be. Basically, I run into this issue because I don't think menu forms look good maximized. I think menu forms should be as simple as possible, guiding the user through the process of the app. But when it comes to some data entry screens, real estate is valuable, and maximized forms make sense. Granted there are work arounds, but I don't think they always present the best UI experience. For instance, we can use the 'Full' option by putting the form size to 100% and setting the position to 0,0. But this form is then movable within the A5 window, a maximized form is not. If we programmically open the new window maximized, then upon closing, restore it before closing to show the menu restored, we get screen flickering.

I understand that this is 'standard' windows behavior, but I'm wondering why that should make any difference, we all love to hate MS anyway. What if Jim Chapman Super Visual C++ didn't allow you to specifically control the sizing of UI objects, but forced you into a standard that I determined was best for everybody? To a great extent you are giving us a development environment. Why not let us determine the UI. Make the default behavior the 'standard' windows behavior, but allow an override, ie; always retored, always defined size, always maximized.

Now maybe there is more to this than I understand. Maybe Visual C++ does limit you, then I humbly ask your forgiveness for my soap box rantings.

I threw my 2 cents in a long time ago........... I figure I'm up to about 37 cents now...

Thanks for listening,
Jim

[Peter.Greulich]

RE: Menu Forms - Annoying Problem

Jim,

Your "rants" are worth every penny to us all.

Peter

[Paul Roesch]

RE: Menu Forms - Annoying Problem

Ih you don't want work-a-round send your request to Mr. Gates.

Alpha has already provided a solution.