The desktop is your working surface in Formever® and can be customized by sizing and positioning its control widgets to your liking. The desktop background is set by the administrator.
Desktop Zoom
What you see on the screen is part of a larger desktop. You can change your view of the desktop by zooming in and out. Hold the Alt key (Option key on Mac) and use either your mouse scroll wheel, trackpad or keyboard plus/minus keys or < > keys. This will show more or less of the desktop surface by moving your point of view closer or further away.
To reset the screen to the normal viewing area press Ctrl-0 (Option-0 on the Mac).
You can arrange control widgets on the desktop as you desire. Widgets you don’t use often or not at all can be placed on a part of the desktop that is usually hidden from view.
System Status Information
The desktop provides information about your current operating mode. Some of this information is watermarked upon the desktop background:
- Current accounting period e.g. JAN15 (also shown on Formever window title bar)
- If you are in admin mode, it says “ADMIN MODE”. (also shown on Formever window title bar)
- If you are in form design mode, it says "ADMIN MODE – FORM DESIGN MODE"
Status information is also shown in the title bar of the Formever window.
| # | Setting Label | Description |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Software Release | Shows the version information for the running software. |
| #2 | Data Source | Indicates the cloud database identifier or "local" if Formever is running stand-alone. |
| #3 | Director Information | Active Director Information: director role, director ID and director group ID. |
| #4 | FIscal Period | Shows active fiscal period or shows ADMIN if you are in Administration mode |
| #5 | In Form Design Mode (local desktop only) or Running on Cloud Server |
Context Help
To show a context help memo ALT-click (option-click on the Mac) on the desktop or a widget.
The desktop context help describes how to zoom the desktop and gives the key combination to reset it to the normal size. It also covers how to create folders on the desktop.
Lost/Hidden Widgets
If a desktop control widget appears to be missing it is probably hiding outside the visible area of the desktop. You can expand the desktop as described above and drag the widget back into the visible area, before resetting the zoom level with the reset key combination.
Menus, Where are the Menus?
Every thing in Formever is done using forms. There are no menus. Menus add complexity to a system. They have numerous menu items that few if any people use or understand. It’s even worse in business systems. One of the goals of Formever is to enable the building of powerful but simple systems for the business. Everything is done by filling in forms or clicking buttons on forms.
Well, I’m a Formever designer and I see a bunch of desktop widgets, isn’t that just a confusing? Perhaps at first, but as a Formever designer you are exposed to the entire tool box so you see everything. In time you will understand the purpose of each desktop widget.
For the users of a Formever business system things are simpler. The users of the business system (we call them directors) only see and have access to what is needed for their role on the system. So, desk sales people might only see the Sale Order forms, and Inventory Level report. The Accounts Payable clerk might only see the Vendor Invoice and Purchase Order forms. The department manager would see much more. They do not see most of the widgets a Formever designer sees – unless their role requires it.