How about a face lift?

[Keepontrying]

I have starting to notice that alot of application out there is starting to look more like web applications incorporating things such as flashing buttons etc. Look at most of Microsoft applications such as money, encarta etc. Is there anyway we can make our foxpro application to look and feel like some of these application. Is there any third party vendor?

Just want to keep up with the times

 

[aprogrammer]

well....i must say i am completely surprised too. not only the same topic, but also in the same time

 

[frebev]

I'm not sure whether I fully understand your question but have a look at

http://www.afsnet.be/afrodite/adres_0.htm

and let me know if that is what you're looking for.
(site is in Dutch ... but you can go through the demo by clicking at the bottomline)

wilfredo

 

[darrellblackhawk]

Well, you could create the application with a browser
as the user interface which talks to VFP on the backend.

Also, many of the UI elements that are used on web pages,
can be mimicked in VFP. It just takes some forethought.

Take a look at the form - mousefx.scx - which should be
located in the samples folder if you've installed it
from your MSDN help documentation.


Darrell

 

[Mike Gagnon]

Keepontrying

Are you refering to an application that "looks and feels" like a web application or an application that is a web application, because if it is the second version, you will soon discover the there are not similarities between the two other then the "look". Having an application that works on the web requires the programmer to know and understand a lot more than VFP itself.
Take a look at

http://www.foxforum.net

for example (A French speaking website), this site is I would say 90% VFP, but other 10% us the part that makes it work (mostly written in C++).

Mike Gagnon

If you want to get the best response to a question, please check out FAQ184-2483 first.

 

[craigber]

IMO, it isn't a good idea. Web applications simply don't have all the great UI capabilities of a Win32 application. And making a Win32 app look and behave like a web app isn't such a good idea either. You can make your applications look better by using VFP8. The user can then take advantage of XP themes and you can use hot tracking buttons and fields.

Craig Berntson
MCSD, Visual FoxPro MVP,

http://www.craigberntson.com

Author, CrysDev: A Developer's Guide to Integrating Crystal Reports"

 

[Mike Lewis]

Keepontrying,

I agree with Craig. I can't see much of a good reason to make a desktop application look like a web application, unless it is actually going to be running as a web application.

I have yet to see a web site where the user interface is as good as a well-crafted desktop application.

Mike


Mike Lewis
Edinburgh, Scotland

My Visual Foxpro web site:

http://www.ml-consult.demon.co.uk

My Crystal Reports web site:

http://www.ml-crystal.com

 

[craigsboyd]

you can certainly simulate "rollover buttons" or flash buttons in VFP. Get a good graphics program and make some images that look like the buttons you want and then create a class in VFP, such as a container or just an image...then just put your images in there and change the images on certain events such as mouseover, mousedown, click, etc...for some of the really wild animation you might have to use a timer or animated gif...speaking of using animated gifs in VFP, that is another whole problem...it can be done though and I have used the GIF89.DLL to do it in the past. What the interface looks like is really only limited to your imagination and skills at graphic design. Other things that you could consider is VFPSkins, I have used this myself on one project, looked good and acted right after a little tweaking. The XP themes point is a good one made earlier in this thread...but there you must be using VFP 8 and the user must have XP, just something to bear in mind given whatever your target user base is. I would also like to re-enforce the fact that generally a web app is not a good idea if the same can be accomplished by creating a normal EXE. I mean there is so much overhead, and so many restrictions...though this of course needs to be consider in light of whatever your needs and requirements are...it may just be that you would benefit from a web-enabled application. There are a number of really good reasons to make a web-enabled application, but I just don't feel that "User Interface Improvement" is one of them. My thoughts for what they're worth.

Slighthaze = NULL
[sub]craig1442@mchsi.com[/sub][sup]

"Whom computers would destroy, they must first drive mad." - Anon​

[/sup]