>>I'm of the opinion that we need a save button, mainly for the reasons already given. However, the interface you saw does have a couple of problems.
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>I think you're missing the point, Craig (with all due respect). It's simply moronic to have a message interrupt you to tell you that the program miraculously accomplished something that should be taken for granted.
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>>First is the use of the WAIT WINDOW. Too easy for the user to miss. If I require the user to respond, I always use MESSAGEBOX.
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>Good point. On a high-res display (like my 1280x1024), it's very easy to miss a WAIT WINDOW way up there in the corner.
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>>Second, there is no reason for the user to press a key at that point. A WAIT WINDOW with a timeout of 2 seconds should be sufficient.
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>This is a bad idea, in my opinion. Two seconds is a very long time (try saying "one elephant, two elephant"). Timeout messages belong with blinking text in the Stone Age of user interface design. And if you can click the message away, then that's what people will do, and it will be no better than a MessageBox.
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>But the main thing is that a program shouldn't waste the user's time by requiring any action from her that doesn't further the user's goals. If it is that extraordinary that data should actually be saved, then a status line message is sufficient.


No, I didn't miss the point at all. I've read Cooper's book and he has lots of valid points. The fact is, I give my users a choice to a number of things in the Options dialog. For example, one option is "See save messages". Another is "Prompt to Save". This applies when the user edits the record then moves to the next or closes the form. If the user chooses not to see these dialogs, then I force a save when the record pointer moves or the form closes. But, I leave it up to the user....much better solution than forcing one way or the other on them.

The timeout on the wait window does not force the user to click. They can continue on and keep working.

As for the Save button, it is there on my forms...users have gotten use to a save button. Not just my applications, but all apps. For example, I often fire up Word to crank out a quick letter, etc. I have no intention of saving it. How is Word supposed to know this? I would find it MUCH more annoying for Word to save everything I wrote, and then I have to delete it if I don't want to save it.