GIF in userform

[wmbb]

I've two questions....

1.
Is it possible to use an animating gif in a userform ?
Trying to do this results in a static picture.

2.
Is it possible to change the cursor in a hourglass during the macro-runtime ?

 

[fumei]

Blinking??????

<runs away screaming>

I thought we were past that stuff. Remember that horrid <BLINK> tag, in the early days? I could have strangled whoever put that into HTML.

IMO, if a user - or anyone - is so distracted, discombobulated, that they can not pay minimal attention to something without visual bricks-over-the-head like animated/blinking anything, then they do not deserve any attention. It is shameful coddling of people.

There is a user here who after 15 years still does not grasp the concept of "file" and that they are in "folders" (directories for us old folks...). He was constantly asking the same darn things about saving things. Even though he is a senior manager, I finally flatly refused to help him. I had explained the basics (many times); I had written a nice and clear Quick Reference card, and put in on his desk. Nothing worked...because he is lazy. He does not want to learn because he knows someone else will do it for him. This guy would - and still does - get a lower level person to come into his office...and save his files for him!

Not me. And I refuse to explain it again. Ever.


I am totally, completely FOR making things easy to use for users. 100%. I am totally, completely, AGAINST being supportive of people who refuse to pay attention, or learn anything.

"A little piece of heaven
without that awkward dying part."

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Gerry

 

[ettienne]

I share Gerry's sentiment. We are dealing with adults and not children, they should grow up and pay attention. How difficult is it to fill in fields on a form.
From a programming perspective you can force the user to fill in the field by checking if the field is empty before continuing with the next step in the process flow, if the field is empty then show an error message and return them to the empty field.

 

[SkipVought]

Then there's the guy who wants to "Add a minutes to time calculations" thread707-1571308, because the users drop minutes by the way that they inaccurately enter data. What is this world coming to? To WHAT?

Skip,

_{Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE!}

 

[fumei]

Skip. Oh yes, I quite enjoyed your...ummmmmm...responses on that thread. Along with Tony's and macropod's. Sheeesh. I mean, really now. This is ridiculous coddling.

ettienne, yes of course. It is our DUTY, as programmers, to make the functioning on the coding side as efficient and error-free as possible. So absolutely yes, error-trapping, and user validation are indeed OUR responsibility.

Again, this is trying (as best as possible) to cover examples of user errors/mistakes. People are human, and they make errors and mistakes. I have no issue whatsoever with trying to catch those. I most certainly DO have an issue with laziness and/or persistent blind stupidity.

Like the Add a minute issue Skip refers to, yup I would not coddle people who are - basically - lazy. It is not bloody rocket science to figure out time sheets. Or whatever.

As macropod pointed out "it is not cheaper".

I get paid for my time. The guy I mentioned probably has cost the organization thousands and thousands of dollars of (wasted) time over the years asking me the same basic question over and over again. All of which could be negated by him simply learning what should - these days - be a inherent piece of knowledge.

"A little piece of heaven
without that awkward dying part."

advertisment for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (a chocolate/peanut butter confection)

Gerry

 

[MakeItSo]

We are dealing with adults and not children, they should grow up and pay attention. How difficult is it to fill in fields on a form

Theoretically.
In practice, things often look different, and you actually have to parent your users. Not forever, only until they are accustomed to the next level of organisation.

Please Gerry, no offense meant at all, but you sound a bit like a BOFH. I cannot imagine that you've never met a disorganised bunch of users?
You can NOT rely on them thinking! You can NOT rely on them filling out each field on a form even if it is marked mandatory.
They sometimes ARE like children and need to be taught. Sometimes gently, sometimes a bit harsher.

If a blinking, moving arrow helps to train them to focus on things they as yet keep ignoring, so what?
They won't need it forever!

Just my 0.2 though.


[navy]"We had to turn off that service to comply with the CDA Bill."[/navy]
- The Bastard Operator From Hell

 

[MarkWalsh]

If a blinking, moving arrow helps to train them to focus on things they as yet keep ignoring, so what?They won't need it forever!

Too bad it will be there forever.

I agree that the interface should do as much as possible to make entry easy and error free, and I'm not a fan of some of these methods to adapt to inept users.

Unfortunately, I've been on that side too, though. I've recently had to do things that I was against in an entry form because our admins insisted on it. In this form, there are several places where the Patient name appears, and the user has to type in the same name each time, although it would have been minimally simple to share the same value in each field. Apparently, if the user typed the name wrong, then they feel we would be legally responsible for 'duplicating' the error. Let alone the fact that having to enter the same data in several places creates a better chance for an error to occur.

In this same form, there are several sections which have fields that appear or disappear based on a checkbox/option box selection. One of them is the delivery address. The choices are Doctor's Office, Patient's Address, or Other. Clicking on Other reveals the address fields, clicking on the other options hides the fields. The managers had me clear any data entered into the fields when they were hidden. The reasoning? 'What if they typed something wrong? They should have to start over with empty fields each time they are revealed'

Be glad that the people I work with/for are not responsible for human interface guidelines.

 

[fumei]

I had to look up BOFH.

No, I do not think so.

"I cannot imagine that you've never met a disorganised bunch of users?"

Yes, of course I have. And, as I stated, it is our responsibility as developers/programmers to minimize the effects of that, through good error-trapping and other methods of good design. For example, it is common for people to use textboxes for user input. However, that allows GarbageIn. The user can enter "illegal" input that can cause problems. Simply changing that to a dropdown list with ONLY legal input prevents this. The user can only choose a legal value. This is a design issue, and it is not up to the user to come up with design. It is up to us to work with users; in other words a real needs analysis. This is, IMO, rarely done very well. This is our fault.

Very true, we can NOT rely on users thinking. I was not suggesting that actually. What I am saying is that if we fulfil our responsibilities (a proper needs analysis, actually working with users), then the human interface qualities will work for the users. Which is the point, yes?

However, I do not feel that users have NO responsibilities themselves.

Still, what I am expressing is that I do not think excessive coddling is a good thing. Trying, as best as possible, to make it easy for the users - absolutely. I am in favour of this. What I object to to is excessive coddling. It is, of course, rather difficult to determine precisely what is excessive, or not.

If the design of whatever continually makes users frustrated and/or confused, then it is NOT the users fault. It is ours. Sadly, I have to say that this is the case more often that not. I have seen many many systems/applications that work badly BECAUSE the developers never actually checked with what the users really needed.

I have worked often as the go-between in development. That is, I worked with the users (as I am one too), as well as the developers (as I am one too). To make my position clear, I essentially come down on the user side.

In my mind, if an application can not be used, it is pointless, useless, and should die (disappear).

Which does not - I think - make me a BOFH.

Nevertheless, my main concern is always the fulfillment of responsibility. Programmers/developers often avoid their responsibility (making something work for the users - and this can lead to a BOFH. However, users ALSO have responsibilities (at least I think so).

"A little piece of heaven
without that awkward dying part."

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Gerry