Читать книгу Excel 2019 Power Programming with VBA - Michael Alexander, Dick Kusleika - Страница 53

If you've used many different software packages, you've undoubtedly seen examples of poorly designed user interfaces, difficult-to-use programs, and just plain ugly screens. If you're developing spreadsheets for other people, you should pay particular attention to how the application looks.

How a computer program looks can make all the difference in the world to users, and the same is true of the applications that you develop with Excel. Beauty, however, is in the eye of the beholder. If your skills lean more in the analytical direction, consider enlisting the assistance of someone with a more aesthetic sensibility to provide help with design.

End users appreciate a good-looking user interface, and your applications will have a much more polished and professional look if you devote additional time to design and aesthetic considerations. An application that looks good demonstrates that its developer cared enough about the product to invest extra time and effort. Take the following suggestions into account:

 Strive for consistency When designing dialog boxes, for example, try to emulate the look and feel of Excel's dialog boxes whenever possible. Be consistent with formatting, fonts, text size, and colors.

 Keep it simple A common mistake that developers make is trying to cram too much information into a single screen or dialog box. A good rule is to present only one or two chunks of information at a time.

 Break down input screens If you use an input screen to solicit information from the user, consider breaking it up into several, less-crowded screens. If you use a complex dialog box, you may want to break it up by using a MultiPage control, which lets you create a familiar tabbed dialog box.

 Don't overdo color Use color sparingly. It's easy to overdo color and make the screen look gaudy.

 Monitor typography and graphics Pay attention to numeric formats and use consistent typefaces, font sizes, and borders.

Evaluating aesthetic qualities is subjective. When in doubt, strive for simplicity and clarity.