>>I was looking at an application yesterday that was very annoying. Everytime you saved a data change a wait window came up with "Your data has been saved - press any key to continue".
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>>It got me thinking "why do we need a save button at all?" When I fill out a physical form I don't have to save it. It is saved by virtue of having filled it out. So why do we require users to 'SAVE'?
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>How do you know the user hasn't made a mistake and doesn't want to commit his/her changes. Depending on the appraoch you take, they could simply close the form or click on another button to bring back the original data.
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If the mistake is a validation error, then it would be caught before the system decided to update the tables. If the mistake is a typo, then who would catch it and why would a save button make a difference? (see below)


>A good example would be 2 people using the same program with their data files stored on a network. Now let's assume they both start editing the same record and one saves before the other. In a good program, you can tell the user what the data was originally, what the data has been changed to by the other user, and the what they changed it to, and let them select on a field-by-field basis which values to keep.
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If the system saved data intuitively, the only time it might need to interact with the user is during exceptions. That is, when a conflict arises. If there is no conflict, then closing the form, finding another record etc, intuitively saves what they have done.

Now, some data entry forms are very complex and have many relationships between the data elements. Why not a sort of validation status that indicates how far towards completion the user is?

This morning my wife asked me to fill out some forms but I didn't have time to finish them. She complained she couldn't send them out until they were complete. I said, so, I'll finish it when I get home. Now, in systems we build, the user usually has to complete the form/screen and save all or none. Otherwise, we complain, the database will be in a bad state. Should the user care? He should be able to easily say "I'll finish that tomorrow when I have time" We don't often build systems that meet these needs.


>>I'd like to think there is an elegant metaphor for intuitively saving data without asking the user to do it.
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>>If you look at some of the forms that change settings in Win95 or IE4 etc. You don't have to save. You can cancel, but the boxes you check etc are saved automatically.
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>>Does anyone build forms that save data without explicitly having a save button?
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>If memory serves me correctly, most dialogs in Win95 and IE4 have three buttons on them: OK, Cancel, and Apply. these dialogs do not save the changes you made unless you click on OK or Apply.

Yes, but I think it is worth going one step further and just do it! At least the Ok button closes the window and does the intuitive save. So I can make lots of changes and Ok closes the window and saves the changes. I have to close the window anyone. Apply just lets me see the changes without leaving.

Just some thoughts!