My answer would be: it depends :-) When you see a form as one task to be performed by the user, in most cases it is good to keep everything related to this task within its form. You will most likely find some kind of workflow roughly going in writing direction, i. e. from top left to bottom right. If you need data to be defined by the user before the user can proceed to the next step within this form, it might be helpful to gray out any further steps to avoid confusing the user with too many options at one time.
I use to keep the main tasks in one main form, splitting it up into not too many parts which can be totally independent to each other. Just try to think like the user: What would the user expect to see at a first glance, and when does the user really need this or that option? It depends also on the kind of program you make. There are complex tasks like monitoring data which might create a lot of small controls on a panel at the same time to give a comprehensive overview. In my cases, there are mostly lists of data (names) to be seen (a treeview) which show up with data on the right sight when clicked. But there is also a classbook managing tool which has four tabs with different main tasks and several sub-tasks on each tab. Hope it helps a bit. Rolf Am 12.05.2014 02:49, schrieb Jb Skaggs: > is it better to have multiple forms or one form with lots of controls > that show and hide? > > I like to have multiple forms- but which is faster and considered the > better method? > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > "Accelerate Dev Cycles with Automated Cross-Browser Testing - For FREE > Instantly run your Selenium tests across 300+ browser/OS combos. > Get unparalleled scalability from the best Selenium testing platform available > Simple to use. Nothing to install. Get started now for free." > http://p.sf.net/sfu/SauceLabs > _______________________________________________ > Gambas-user mailing list > Gambas-user@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/gambas-user > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Accelerate Dev Cycles with Automated Cross-Browser Testing - For FREE Instantly run your Selenium tests across 300+ browser/OS combos. Get unparalleled scalability from the best Selenium testing platform available Simple to use. Nothing to install. Get started now for free." http://p.sf.net/sfu/SauceLabs _______________________________________________ Gambas-user mailing list Gambas-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/gambas-user
