Summary
Forms in Visual Studio are composed of elements such as fields, tables, filters, and grids, which display to a finance and operations apps user as pages. Out of the box, every module contains many pages that are related to the module's topic. You can create new pages and new modules through development in Visual Studio. It is best practice when developing a new form that you apply a form pattern. Many form patterns are used throughout the application, each of which determines the layout, structure, and contents of the page. Some elements of a form pattern require a subpattern to be applied as well. Forms are managed in the form designer window, which contains a pattern pane that shows steps to follow for creating the form and previewing pane where you can see how the form changes as you add and modify elements.
As a developer, you have multiple tools that you can use to test and improve a form's performance. You can set the form as a startup object in the Solution Explorer window, and then preview the form in a browser window inside of the developer environment. This will allow you to make tweaks to the display and structure of the form. Browser-based tools such as Fiddler and the Performance timer can be used to optimize a form's performance.
Users want a seamless experience when exploring finance and operations apps. By analyzing a form's load and refresh times, a developer can ensure that the user has the navigation experience that they desire.
Links to related modules (and sites) for specific topics
| Topic | Link |
|---|---|
| Form guidelines and details for form patterns | General form guidelines |
| Form pattern descriptions | Form styles and patterns |
| Performance timer | Performance timer |