VISUAL QUICKPRO GUIDE FileMaker Pro 7 Advanced FOR WINDOWS AND MACINTOSH [Electronic resources]

Cynthia L. Baron, Daniel Peck

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Usability, Legibility, and Logical Grouping

Although a database developer doesn't have to be a graphic designer, it doesn't hurt to know a little bit about how people read and use information. When planning your layouts, consider how they can be optimized to avoid confusion. A few minutes of extra work on your part can save database users hours of frustration.

If you've planned your database with care, you've examined existing business forms and talked with people to find out how they use them. Once you've figured out what type of information you need to cover in a database, spend some time considering how that information should be visually arranged. For data-entry layouts especially, your field arrangement can be critical. Group fields of similar or sequential information together. Whenever possible, arrange fields to match the order of the raw material from which people using the database will work. If you don't, the user is certain to miss or transpose information. For example, if a sales department uses contact sheets that provide phone numbers in the order: voice, fax, then mobile, the layout you create should too.

People using the Latin alphabet read from left to right and top to bottom. If you need to create a layout with fields broken into two columns, separate the columns widely if the flow of information will fill one column before moving to the next. The opposite is true if your tab order will move left to right, then top to bottom (Figure 3.1).

Figure 3.1. These layouts contain essentially the same fields, but differ in how their data will be added. In the top layout, information fills the left column, then moves to the right. The bottom layout moves left to right, then down line by line.

Chapter 9, "Extending the Interface with Scripts."

Figure 3.2. In the bottom main menu layout, reports and functions are organized by function. Use the Arrange > Set Alignment command to help you lay out your groupings on a menu page.

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Tips

Avoid typing labels and other important information in all capital letters. Not only do they take up more space, but they're much harder to read than labels in upper-and lowercase, particularly if the labels are fairly close together (Figure 3.3).

Figure 3.3. It takes people longer to recognize letterforms when they're all capital letters.

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Whatever you decide to do about field label style, be consistent. Make all your labels the same typeface, size, and color. Position them consistently relative to their fields, and try to use the same alignment throughout.