Form colours - what do you use?

[andrewf10]

Hi all,

In an attempt to get rid of the boring grey background that seems standard with Access forms, I've been running my first ever database for 12 months with an orange(!) background and blue text.

However, it does look a bit over the top and unprofessional so I'm wondering what you fellow database designers use. From what I can see, Access doesn't offer a whole lot of variety.

Are there add-ins/templates that any of you use or do you depend on gifs and jpgs?

Any tips appreciated
Thanks

 

[Tay]

After having a variety of colours on my forms, I did return to grey as it looks more professional IMO. But to make it look a little more colourful, I use a different colour for labels on each form. I don't use gifs or jpgs due to their size (not that big I know, but I'd rather not).

 

[indesisiv]

I tend to use a grren sort of colour. 10018472

Steve

 

[Captain Chaos]

The Blues

I use dark or royal Blue with White (or yellow) for text and lines, slightly different blue for highlighting. 9912073. (No connection with Leic City colours!)

 

[ColinEssex]

I use a sort of peppermint green for a few of mine, the users seem to like it - 11914397 and a nice burnt orange that I like is 33023.

Me and Ally have a database of colours where we store ones we like.

Col

 

[Fizzio]

Col, I never knew that you were a Lawrence Llewellen-Bowen of the Db World

 

[ColinEssex]

More Salvador Dali really, we've even got a red and yellow stripy form! I'm afraid I'm not a fan at all of Laurence wotsit. I'll leave it at that.

Col

 

[Fizzio]

Do you also have a reputation as an eccentric paranoid? - Maybe Ally should answer that one

 

[Ally]

Do you also have a reputation as an eccentric paranoid? - Maybe Ally should answer that one

My lips had better stay very sealed!

 

[Fizzio]

Awww

 

[missinglinq]

I leave much of the color up to the indiviual user by using Windows' Color IDs. Essentially this means that the db's color scheme will be determined by the color scheme the user has chosen in Windows as his/her preference.

I usually use a gray (sometimes light, sometimes dark) as the form background (picked using the color pallette) but then use a Color ID code for label backgrounds, buttons, frames, etc. I usually set all three of these to

-2147483646 (Active window title bar)

which means that the user's choice for Active window title bar will be seen in these controls on the screen. Setting all three of these to the same Color ID means that the screen will have a co-ordinated look. The gray background is neutral so that it will go fairly well with the user's choices, whether they be staid colors such as maroon or dark blue, or day-glo colors such as yellows or oranges.

Just place any of the Color IDs in the control's color property box and leave the rest to Windows. Be sure to preface the ID # with the minus (-) sign; this tells Windows that the number is a Color ID number.

Hope this helps.

The Missinglinq

Color ID... Color Description
----------- -----------------
-2147483648 Scroll bar
-2147483647 Desktop
-2147483646 Active window title bar
-2147483645 Inactive window title bar
-2147483644 Menu bar
-2147483643 Window
-2147483642 Window frame
-2147483641 Menu Text
-2147483640 Window Text
-2147483639 Title bar text
-2147483638 Active window border
-2147483637 Inactive window border
-2147483636 Application background
-2147483635 Highlight
-2147483634 Highlight Text
-2147483633 3-D face
-2147483632 3-D shadow
-2147483631 Dimmed (disabled) text
-2147483630 Button Text
-2147483629 Inactive window title bar text
-2147483628 3-D highlight
-2147483627 3-D dark shadow
-2147483626 3-D light
-2147483625 ToolTip Text
-2147483624 ToolTip background
-2147483621 Active window title bar color2

 

[andrewf10]

Thanks a lot everyone, I'm going to start testing some of these colours right now.

 

[rube]

Same thing

Is there a good book or examples one can view for some of these? I find the same thing, although very functional, my applications tend to be repetitive and boring. Where many of the applications I see in the field have a very user friendly and inviting "feel". Then there are those that appear very blocky and static, though very functional. You have to deal with the user's perception also, right or wrong.

Rube.

 

[Tekime]

I like -2147483633 for my backcolor. For my current (and first real) app I'm using that for my backcolor and 128 for shapes and text box bg's. I like text boxes with drop shadow, 128 for the backcolor, and white font color in Tahoma 10px bold. (For secion labels, not field labels).

 

[Autoeng]

Try here for ideas...

http://www.access-programmers.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=41194

 

[missinglinq]

Autoeng,

Thanks for the referral to the thread from earlier in the year (before I found this forum). One of the issues broached in this earlier thread was the use of the mouse vs the keyboard, with some posters jumping in on one side and some on the other. Someone was amazed that one of the poster's co-workers preferred using the keyboard/hot keys over using the mouse (I believe this wonk stated that he [the amazed one] tried to make EVERYTHING mouse driven, even data input).

My understanding of the whole "Windows concept" is that the user should be able to move from one Windows-based program to another, without having to learn an entirely new set of rules. Programs written to the Windows standards allow users to use keyboard input, mouse input, or a combination of the two.

Despite the amazement of the aforementioned poster, there are beaucoup users out there who still prefer to use the keyboard! Granted, these users tend to be among the more gray-haired users, those who grew up in a "keyboard oriented" world.
What should be recognized however, by the "amazed poster" and others, is that these "gray-haired" users tend to be the people in positions of power in today's corporations. Presenting an application that precludes the use of the keyboard, to a manager who still prefers to use the keyboard, is not a exactly a shortcut to the top of the corporate ladder! Nor is it likely to endear the developer to any other user that prefers using the keyboard, which brings me to the last point of my rant:

The first, last, and only goal of any developer, after making sure that their project can actually do that which it was intended to do, is to make it as easy for the user to use as possible. After all, when you cut out all the BS, a programmer's job is to spend many, many hours doing something once, so that the users can spend a few seconds doing many, many things thousands of times! If you don't make it easy for the end-user, you haven't done your job right! The appearance/function of the application's forms should work towards this goal.

As Dennis Miller would say "I could be wrong! It's just one man's opinion!"

The Missinglinq

 

[rube]

Commanad Buttons

Does anyone have some button examples they wouldn't mind posting?

Also, Is it possible to put an image on a button with a transparent background?

I did check the archived posts anf found Peter De Baets' examples of changing button colors, which is nice. But I would still like to get away from either solely using command buttons with labels or the access button images I overuse.

Thanks for any input.

 

[Fizzio]

As missinglinq identifies if you are happy with not needing hot keys (you can still cheat by having an invisible button (I think)), why not use a picture control and make it react like a button by setting the OnClick event to something. To make the image transparent, make the background of the image the same colour as the form.

 

[ColinEssex]

Here's a button I use sometimes, you can put white text in a label over it.

 

[rube]

Image

I actually did that in a couple of apps. They worked fine, but just aesthetically, it wasn't as pleasing to the user. I remember a large client we had that used lotus notes and I always hated some of their buttons because they did not click/react the way a normal button did. Functionally, no doubt, they did the same thing, but it was a perception issue. A lot of times I would see users double click a button that only required one, simply because they didn't see the button depress.