Technical Note 3700
Commence Technical Support
Last Updated: March 17, 2004

Detail Form Optimization

Abstract

The information in this document applies to:

This document discusses how to optimize detail forms and includes some tips to improve this performance. Form performance can be broken down into the following areas:

· Opening a form the first time

· Opening a form subsequent times

· Switching between tab pages on a form

· Form layout considerations

Usage Tips

The first time a form is loaded, several system files and controls that are used on the form are loaded into memory. After these files are loaded they will be cached so subsequent form loads will be faster. Note: this applies across all forms and all categories - the very first form load will take the longest. All subsequent forms (even for different categories) will be faster.

Switching tabs will refresh the controls for the new tab and release all of the connection controls on the tab being closed. This helps to reduce resource usage on Win98 platforms. Also, controls are cached after they are first created, so re-opening a tab page will occur faster since the controls already exist.

When editing items via the detail form, it is more efficient to use the blue browse buttons on the detail form toolbar to save the form and move to the next/previous item. This reduces the time it takes to refresh the screen.

Design Tips

The form layout and design will also impact the form performance. The following are some tips to improve performance in RM 3.0(a).

Reduce the number of controls on the form

The fewer controls there are on the form (e.g., connection controls, tab page control, etc.), the faster it will load. For example, if you have a form that displays all fields on one tab page, you can eliminate the tab page completely. Simply cut and paste all the fields off the tab and onto the form background (or container). Then delete the tab control.

Move fields off the tab page control onto the form

Wherever possible, include controls directly onto the form. This tip can be used where redundant fields are included on every tab (such as a customer name and address).

Split a form into more tab pages

Reduce the number of fields displayed on the first tab by moving less frequently accessed fields onto a secondary tab page. If the form is divided into multiple tabs with fewer fields, the form will be opened faster.

Reduce the number of connections displayed on a tab page

This is especially true for the first tab page that is displayed. By moving connections off the first tab page, the form will load faster. Of course this initialization time is just deferred until the tab page is opened where the connection controls are displayed. For a form that displays many connections, consider using a multiview instead. You can remove the connection fields off the form and display the same connected data in the secondary window of a multiview.