GUI Standards

1.	Information should flow either vertically or horizontally, with the most important information always located in the upper-left corner of the screen
2.	Maintain a consistent margin of two or three dots from the edge of the window
3.	Try to create a user interface that blends in with the operating system, i.e. nobody should notice it
4.	Related controls should be grouped together using white space, GroupBox controls or Panel controls
5.	Set the Form's FormBorderStyle, ControlBox, Maximize and StartPosition properties appropriately
6.	A Form should always have a Minimize and Close button; enabling the Maximize button is optional
7.	A Form's FormBorderStyle property is normally set to Sizable, but can also be set to FixedSingle
8.	Position related controls on succeeding dots
9.	Controls that are not part of any logical grouping should be positioned two to four dots away from other controls
10.	Align controls on the Form
11.	Graphics should be small and placed where it will not distract the user
12.	Use the Tahoma font for Windows 2000 and Windows XP
13.	Use no more than two font sizes, ranging from 8 to 12 points
14.	Use one font only
15.	Don't use italics or underlining
16.	Use bold only for headings and key words
17.	Use black, white and gray - add a maximum of three other colours only if necessary
18.	If colour is used, stick to pale colours for backgrounds, black for text
19.	Don't use colour as the only way to identify elements
20.	Set the TabIndex for each control on the Form to present a smooth flow of data
21.	Lock controls on the Form
22.	The AcceptButton is the button most often selected by the user, and should not have a destructive or irreversible effect.
23.	The CancelButton is the button that will exit the Form or cancel an operation, and should not have a destructive or irreversible effect

1.	Assign unique access keys to each control that can receive focus
2.	For access keys, use the first letter of the caption or identifying label, unless another letter gives a more meaningfull association.
3.	For access keys, if the above fails, use a distinctive consonant
4.	For access keys, if the above fails, use a vowel or number

Splash Screens

1.	A Splash screen should not have a Minimize, Maximize or Close button
2.	A Splash screen's borders should not be sizable

1.	Use Labels to identify the TextBoxes on the Form
2.	Position the Label either above or to the left of the TextBox
3.	Label text should be no more than three words, appear on one line, be left-justified and should be entered using sentence capitalization
4.	Labels that display program output should have a BorderStyle of FixedSingle

1.	Buttons should be positioned either in a row along the bottom of the screen or stacked in either the upper-right or lower-right corner
2.	If the buttons are positioned at the bottom of the screen, then each button should be the same height, but their widths may vary
3.	If the buttons are stacked then each button should be the same height and width
4.	Don't use more than six buttons per screen
5.	The most commonly used buttons should be placed first
6.	Button captions should be meaningful, be no more than three words, appear on one line and should be entered using book title capitalization
7.	An identifying Label's tab index should be one digit less than the TextBox it identifies
8.	Default buttons are those that are selected most often by the user and should not have a destructive or irreversible effect.

1.	Document the program internally
2.	Use the Val function on any Text property involved in a calculation
3.	Use the Format function to improve the appearance of numbers

1.	Use sentence capitalization for the prompt
2.	Use book title capitalization for the title

Graphic User Interface (GUI) Design Guidelines

Access Keys

Forms and Controls

Splash Screens