Hi John, I also think it depends on the app, maybe the users. As I said to Sylvain, I'm just paranoid of careless users. VPM has a tool bar button with a Save + Add function, I thought it would be a good idea to combine that with an edit mode, to make data entry easier, while requiring a more elaborate (as elaborate as hitting an edit button can be) for data maintenance.

>Hiya Jorge,
>
>This subject comes up once in a while, usually producing heated debate ;-)
>Generally, there are two types of data entry paradigms: Edit-on-demand and edit-on-request. Edit-on-demand (EOD) is where a user can just start typing away in whatever field they want. Edit-on-request (EOR) is where a user has to specifically hit a Modify button to have access to the data.
>
>Frankly, I believe it depends on the application. In most cases, I implement EOR because it gives more control over the data and how it's changed, although (and this is a big although), most UI gurus such as Alan Cooper would argue that users should have immediate access to all data all of the time.
>
>
>>I recently started using VPM, and was surprised that they don't implement an edit mode by default, they recently added some functionality to do so, but it's not fully supported, in their documentation they say that having forms always in edit mode was a more common practice since VFP came along.
>>
>>I've always used an edit mode, and prefered it, because it's harder to mess things up this way, so I was surprised to hear that this was an "uncommon" practice ... what do you all think?, do you use an edit mode?