When designing their UI, Access developers often make these common mistakes:
- Non-standard fonts - for example, making fonts bold or using different fonts on the same form
- Different background colors for labels and controls - this will confuse users because it's not standard with Windows, and the colors are distracting
- No standard OK/Cancel button pair - it's always a good idea to do as Windows does because users are familiar with Windows dialogs. "Save" and "Cancel" are non-standard, for example.
- Lots of different forms - having a separate form for every block of data that needs to be entered can become a confusing and tedious process.
With the new breed of icons, themes and form layouts, you will try and steer away from the old Access look. Aim for a cleaner, less cluttered, and quicker to navigate look. With just a little time you can fix up your Access forms. Try these tips and see how you can transform even an Access Application!
Having a separate form for every block of data that needs to be entered can become a confusing and tedious process. A common example is having one form to add/edit Contact details, another to add/edit that Contact's Address details, and a third to add/edit that contact's Qualifications. This is not user-friendly...
You will target your application towards resolutions that your customers can use comfortably. It is no good to just tell the customer to increase their resolution on their 15-inch LCD because your application and others can become unreadable on smaller screens.
All through main Microsoft software, you will see a variety of icons used to represent the information they are related to, and to make the interface more interesting and appealing. When are developing forms in Access, you should aim to make it look and feel consistent and user-friendly, just like Microsoft does.
As we know, an image is worth a thousand words. So here are some examples of how to make cleaner forms:
It's always a good idea to follow how Windows does as users are familiar with Windows dialogs. "Save" and "Back" are non-standard, for example.
One of the more common complaints about Microsoft Access databases is that some screens are slow to respond. This is often misinterpreted as poor performance on the part of the database engine but the real culprit is usually the screen design.
Here are a few techniques that developers can use to improve screen responsiveness.