• An attractive splash screen welcomes the user to the database. 
• Pictures of vehicles to lease or purchase were stored in the database and displayed on forms.
• A "thank you" letter was created and merged with the fields from the database so they could be printed and mailed with ease.
• A pop-up form was implemented in order to ensure all required data was retrieved from the user.  Once a new vehicle was added to the database, a transaction form also had to be filled out.  The Transaction form popped up automatically once the vehicle form was complete so the user would not forget.
• As you can see from the screen shots provided below, different views of the same form provided the user with various levels of usability .  In the "View Mode" (Figure 1.1), the user can only scroll through the records to view client information without the worry of deleting or changing information.  The fields are shaded to indicate read-only.  The "Edit Mode" view (Figure 1.2) is similar to the View Mode in that the user can scroll through records, but s/he can also edit the records and any changes are saved automatically.  in the "Add Mode" view (Figure 1.3), the user can actually add a new record and this is indicated by the blank fields, which seemingly await to be filled with data.  When the "Save" button is clicked at the bottom, the data entered is validated.  If there is an error, the user is prompted to enter correct data and the data is then saved.
  
  back to top

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) was used extensively in our application:

• An application was built to automatically calculate the total Purchase or Lease payments (with a residual value for the lease payment) to add functionality (see Figure 1.4).  The totals were then summarized and displayed on a printable form (see Figure 1.5).
• Help was made available on each page of data entry for the user.  On a click of a key (F1), a help balloon would display helpful tips.  
• An Active-X calendar control was used to make date entry quick and easy.
• An input mask for the zip/postal code field was used, based on the choice of country entered into the country field.
  
  back to top

Figure 1.1 - View Mode on the Vehicle Information Form
back

Figure 1.2 - Edit Mode on the Vehicle Information Form
back

 
Figure 1.3 - Add Mode on the Vehicle Information Form
back

Figure 1.1 - Calculator Form
back

Figure 1.2 - Summary of Calculations Form
back

Essentials of eBusiness / Java / Visual Basic / DB2 / Peer Evaluations / Biography