Hey Elmar,
I have been very pleased with the new design. I too would like to have some additional functionality specific to the way the panels operate. Specifically, it would be very nice to be able to all controls expand based on percentage (much like the related items in a parent form). If a panel is designed to expand to 70% of the screen-width it should be based on the specifications of the current system. That is certainly the difficulty with web-based applications. I have clients that call me and say "I have a 22" widescreen monitor and the application looks small and does not stretch to the lengths of the screen" They are not talking about the boundries of the app but rather the form sizes. I typically set up Aware apps to function well on 1024 X 768 resolution...sadly, most users have moved on to larger size screens. The downfall of creating forms that extend beyond 1024 X 768 is that users with smaller resolutions have to scroll to get to features that I want everyone to be able to view.
I like the idea of "Anchoring" portions of the forms to particular sections of the panel so that users are getting the same general functionality and do not feel like I was sloppy in my implementation in positioning of the fields within a form or the overall design of the form.
As far as the Beta is concerned...It would be great to be able to have the panels start in a compressed mode rather than open to a desired size. An example would be having a Calendar located in the right panel and having the application start with the panel ready to be expanded instead of open and sized small enough to expose the calendar but where it is not taking up main panel real estate. It would also be great to be able to allow users to save their desired panel settings on logging into the application.
For other users who have not experienced the Beta; it is VERY cool. It takes Aware to another level. Once the full integration is complete to the ExtJS platform it will be even better. Nothing against the Common Controls forms but they are very dated and cheapen the overall look of the web app.
Users demand fancy looking apps...there is no way around it. The fancier it looks the more we can charge 😃
I totally agree with Elmar's points listed in his post. Especially with the wide range of monitor resolutions that are being used currently.
Great work Aware!
