What resolution should I design Template in?

[barbapapa]

I am designing a template to use on all layouts in a template I am creating in fmp 5.5. This template will be used by many different users/different machines/os. I am creating, buttons, graphics in Photoshop. Are there any standards I should consider regarding use of jpegs, color type constraints (web colours). Should I assume a display resolution of 800x600?

I have read about Win/OSX issues related to font size (recommended 11 Arial/Verdana) Is there a function I put into a script that checks display resolution to display a message.

Any help is much appreciated as always.

[Genx]

i seem to have found a sweet spot for myself at 1000w * 645h .. but thats just me... this solution is mainly for laptops but looks fine on desktops in most resolutions... i'd be careful about assuming 800 * 600.. a) i don't know very many people who still use this resolution, you can zoom out in 25% increments when you can zoom in at only 50% ...

hope this helped

~genx

[Vaughan]

Screen size and the resulting FMP layout size is one of the first things I get the clients to agree to. In writing.

It's the client's decision.

[Genx]

... what if its for multiple clients?

~genx

[Vaughan]

Multiple clients or multiple users?

My custom development work is for one client only -- if the client has multiple users, and the users have a variety of screen resolutions... it still comes down to the client's decision. If they want support for multiple recolutions (ie, duplicated layouts in different sizes) then they pay for the extra development costs.

If you are trying to shrink-wrap a solution then this would be a major challenge... the solution might have to support multiple resolutions, and part of the solutions anuual support may be to redesign the interface every couple of years to suit new screens and operating systems.

[Genx]

.. multiple clients, i.e. resell licensing to your solution... but yes, re-development every couple of years would make sense... or if you have your 2 or 3 way file split, you could always just re-develop the ui to suit a couple of resolutions though i dont think id have the nerve to do that...

~genx

[barbapapa]

This solution is for a very broad user base in a variety of environments. Mac/OS9,OSX, Win 98/XP.What would you suggest I aim for in my development? Genx mentioned 800x600 would be a bad assumption. Do you suggest I design for1024x768? I want to make sure I account for as much cross platform / video display compatibility as possible (knowing that I must have to accept some variability in the overall look in different environments)

Should I make a seperate version for Mac and Win? I've developed on a Mac OS9 in the past and had my layouts crash FMP 5.5 when I brought it over to Win XP.

[Genx]

try to develop for the majority of your users... i developed at the res and size i developed at because i know that most of my users will be working on laptops, and the ones that arent, can live with it anyway because the size is still fairly decent... once again remember that you can zoom out in 25% ... i.e. 100% --> 75% --> 50% when you can only zoom in increments of 50% i.e. 100% --> 150% etc... and though you'd think you'd be able to zoom in at custom levels which would make life so much easier you cant... so i personally think its better to develop in a high resolution rather than a lower one... finally... though you may be distributing your solution to a broad user base... try and develop for the majority of users... so work out if they'll be using laptops, the standard screen resolution, do a bit of research on-line, look at some polls about screen resolutions etc. trust me it will be worth it...

~genx

[Ender]

I respectfully disagree. A user with a large screen can handle an application who's windows don't fill the entire screen (I do it all the time with my sweet 23" Cinema Display,) but users that have to scroll down (or Heaven forbid, to the right,) on every layout, will hate your application no matter how many other bells and whistles are in there.

Design for the lowest resolution your users have. If it's a solution for older users, then you may even consider 640x480. If it's for graphics designers with big screens, then you're probably safe with 1024x768, or bigger.

I design for 800x600, as it is the lowest resolution available on all of our computers.

[Lee Smith]

Hi comment,

I agree with you. Having to scroll, even a tiny bit, and having my FileMaker Application close just because I close a file, are two things very that really irritate me.

Lee

[Genx]

.. fair enough, i see your point of view but, how will designing in the smallest resolution possible help if your user has to zoom in... most likely past the boundries of the window to see the information properly? Especially seeing as you may only zoom in increments of 50%... as i was saying zooming out gives your more options because you can do so at increments of 25%... i maintain that the majority of laptop users use 1024 * 768 ... this will also fit on a standard resolution pc screen... however, should the resolution be smaller to the value of 800 * 600 or even 640 * 480, a zoom out of 25% to 50% would solve your problem, however a zoom in of 50% from 640 * 480 to 800 * 600 would not...

also, the quality of layout graphics which may look fine on a 640 * 480 res could deteriorate on anything larger...

in the mean time, if im missing something or anyone cares to correct my logic ill be very happy to hear comments on this topic, because it is actually quite critical...

*******, no tide character on the laptop im on... oh well

ps. since when are the first four letters in the word damnation a swear word?

genx

[comment]

Hi comment,

I agree with you.

....

That's always nice to hear - but I am not in this thread.

[Genx]

lol, im always tempted to respond to you in your absence aswell

~genx

[Ender]

how will designing in the smallest resolution possible help if your user has to zoom in... most likely past the boundries of the window to see the information properly?

I would not design a solution that needs to be zoomed to perform normally. Zoomed layouts do not maintain the same look and feel as the original, and each file is zoomed independantly, making them a pain to work with.

I don't see it as a problem if a smaller window (built for the smaller resolution,) doesn't entirely fill the screen.

********, no tide character on the laptop im on... oh well

No shift key either, eh?

[Genx]

... but it would be to small... and wouldnt take proper advantage of available screen space... and as for the shift key comment im confused, as i said the first four letters in the word damnation apparantly get filtered out because they are absurdly rude, lol i wonder if i brought about this filter

~genx

[Lee Smith]

Well, you usually are in the thread, so I was anticipating your response.

Sorry about that [color:blue] Ender . I do agree with you too.

Lee

[Lee Smith]

... but it would be to small... and wouldnt take proper advantage of available screen space... and as for the shift key comment im confused, as i said the first four letters in the word damnation apparantly get filtered out because they are absurdly rude, lol i wonder if i brought about this filter

~genx

The reference to your shift key is in reference to your Sentence Structure.

I not sure that the filters are on or not, as you just used the word again and it didn't do it this time. I asked that the Filters be turned [color:red]off about a week before your post, because a good *******, hell or ******* sometimes says it best for me. However, if they are back on, it could be because of your post.

Lee

ps, when I preview this post, two of the three words I used were filtered, so I guess the filters are back with us.

[Genx]

... a) what can i say i'm used to slack grammar because of msn.. bad habbit i know, about the filters... oh well... and c)... i used a capital letter once in the word especially

~genx

[barbapapa]

Quite the discussion regarding resolution. I may try on to first build on a 800x600 res first and see how my graphics look after zooming out. I've used photoshop to emulate buttons, bars and horizontal bars as seen on the Scriptology website. Should I be converting these as jpegs? And what is the best way to place these in my template so that I can have multiple identical layouts?

[Lee Smith]

... a) what can i say i'm used to slack grammar because of msn.. bad habbit i know, : about the filters... oh well... and c)... i used a capital letter once in the word especially

~genx

a). I don't care. It is your business what image you want to project.

     I guess you don't have a spelling checker in your browser either?

. That was the answer I expect.

c). I guess I missed that one.

Bottom line, I don't care one way or the other. Using capitalization in you sentences only makes it easier for the reader to follow your thoughts. If you want to make it harder on them, go ahead.

I will say this. You seem to have a lot on the ball, your skill level is higher than you have posted. You have made some excellent contributions, so let ask you this. Why do you want to turn off the others with an attitude?

Lee

[Genx]

I appologize for the "attitude" i'm just tired and get frustrated easily, i will try to be more pleasant from now on

.. and i'd change my skill level but i cant find it in the control panel anywhere hehe

~genx

[Genx]

SAD, once you have your ideal layout, and be very sure that it is your ideal layout before you begin, you should just "duplicate" the layout, by going into layout mode, layout menu, duplicate layout.

Also, one more thing you should take into consideration: whether or not you want to provide your own navigation tools rather than relying on the filemaker bar present on the left side of the screen. Removing this will improve your look a bit but more importantly will free up a bit more space up on any resolution.

Last tip, whether or not you need it i dont know: make sure you work out how all your scripting will be working from the get go so that before duplicating your first layout, all static buttons i.e. buttons that will be present throughout the entire solution, have scripts attached to them, even if they are empty, this will make things easier for you later.

All the best with your solution.

P.S. Lee, i'm on windows, all i have at my disposal is Internet Explorer and FireFox, so yes, I am stuck without any spell checking features.

~Genx

[barbapapa]

Awsome. Thanks again for the advice Genx. I wouldn't have thought to preattach script to buttons before duplicating the layout. You just saved me a load of time.

[aldipalo]

Google toolbar comes with spellchecker. But, you still have to remember to use it. ???

[Genx]

Well yes, but i don't like using add on toolbars, they are cumbersome !

~Genx