Designing forms for a lower screen res

[sebt]

Hi

I'm developing an Access app on a laptop with a 1440x900 wide-screen
display. I know this application is going to have some very crowded
forms, and that the users will be viewing them on non-wide-screen
monitors (don't know exactly what res yet, but the screen will
certainly be a different shape).

Of course I can't change the display res of my screen (it's a laptop
screen); so does anyone know of an easy way to calculate the pixel
screen size of a form, e.g. from its twip-size? This is just so that I
can design my forms to the users' maximum available screen space from
the start. The laptop will feed to an external monitor at all kinds of
resolutions, but I don't have an external monitor.

I'm not really interested in any clever run-time resizing according to
the current resolution - just in making sure the transition from my
wide laptop screen to the users' non-wide monitors doesn't screw up
because I've placed controls "over the edge".

thanks

seb

 

[Steve Schapel]

Seb,

I think your approach is a good one, i.e. designing for the minimum
screen that the application will be used at.

Are you sure you can't adjust the resolution of your laptop screen?
Never seen this before!

If it was mine, I wouldn't try messing with calculations. I would
figure out what screen size you need to cater to, find/borrow a computer
with such a moniitor, temporarily run your application as it is at the
moment on this computer and see how it will look. You will then be able
to easily see the maximum size (cm or in.) you should use for your
forms, and then you can continue your development within these limits.

 

[Rick Brandt]

Hi

I'm developing an Access app on a laptop with a 1440x900 wide-screen
display. I know this application is going to have some very crowded
forms, and that the users will be viewing them on non-wide-screen
monitors (don't know exactly what res yet, but the screen will
certainly be a different shape).

Of course I can't change the display res of my screen (it's a laptop
screen); so does anyone know of an easy way to calculate the pixel
screen size of a form, e.g. from its twip-size? This is just so that
I can design my forms to the users' maximum available screen space
from the start. The laptop will feed to an external monitor at all
kinds of resolutions, but I don't have an external monitor.

I'm not really interested in any clever run-time resizing according to
the current resolution - just in making sure the transition from my
wide laptop screen to the users' non-wide monitors doesn't screw up
because I've placed controls "over the edge".

thanks

seb

I just use the dimensions in design view of the form. Limiting forms to no
more than 7 inches wide by 4 inches tall provides a form that will fit on an
800 by 600 screen with a bit of room for a menu bar and tool bar. Actually
on a couple of forms where I was really cramped I have gone as high as 7.4
by 4.3, but if the user has increased the Windows font size those start to
creep off the edges of some screens.

I'm pretty close to declaring 1024 by 768 as my new minimum supported
resolution (at least for internal company apps). We are pretty close to
being an All-LCD-display shop now and there are only a handful of people who
are still running 800 by 600. I tell you, that's going to feel like moving
into a new house. Sometimes 7 by 4 is just too small to do a form properly.

 

[missinglinq via AccessMonster.com]

Even with a laptop you should be able to change screen resolution. That aside,
here's a link that has a form resizer that, when incorporated in your db,
will automatically adjust your forms, controls, etc to whatever screen
resolution is being used. I've only done limited testing on it, but it seems
to hold up well.

http://jamiessoftware.tk/resizeform/rf_jump.html