Core Benefits

Sane Navigation

Hands On The Keyboard Please

When doing data entry, typing is required.  Hands are already on the keyboard to type the words.  To be forced to move hands aways from the keyboard, say, to a mouse, to generate the move to the next field or location, is to seriously damage productivity.  The damage can be an extra 45 minutes (believe it or not) to complete a form.

Superior productivity can be gained by keeping the hands on the keyboard as much as possible. In order to allow the hands to stay on the keyboard and to not have to use the mouse, there must be sane navigation through the keyboard.

It makes so much sense it seems trivial and too simple to even mention it, but Up must mean Up and Down must mean Down. Yet over the years, we have been astounded at how to many other software packages Up doesn't necessarily mean up.

One of MultiForm's design criteria is that there must be a means to do virtually everything via the keyboard, in order to allow the hands to stay on the keyboard absolutely as much as possible. The mouse can be useful, and can be used as much or as little as desired with MultiForm, but use of the mouse is a optional means not a primary means of navigation.

Example of Sane Navigation

As illustrated here, the Up Arrow follows a logical Up movement, up the column. The other navigation keys, Down, Enter, Left, Right, etc. also have logical movements.

• A Logical Up Arrow.


When pressed, the Up Arrow, will move to the logical field above. If there is a logical column, it will move up the logical column.

• A Logical Down Arrow.


When pressed, the Down Arrow, will move to the logical field below. If there is a logical column, it will move down the logical column.

• A Logical Left Arrow.


When pressed, the Left Arrow, will move to the previous character to the left.  At the beginning of the field, movement will be to the beginning of the previous field to the left. If in the middle of a field and want to move immediately to the previous field, [Shift][Tab] or [Alt][LeftArrow] may be used.

• A Logical Right Arrow.


When pressed, the Right Arrow, will move to the next character to the right. At the end of the field, movement will be to the beginning of the next field to the right. If in the middle of a field and need to move immediately to the next field, [Tab] or [Alt][RightArrow] may be used.



• The PgUp Key moves to Previous Screen.

When pressed, the PgUp, will move to the previous screen. If at the 1st Screen, movement will circle around to the Last Screen.

• The PgDn Key moves to Next Screen.

When pressed, the PgDn, will move to the next screen. If at the Last Screen, movement will circle around to the 1st Screen.

• The Tab Key moves to Next Field.

The [Tab] key operates much like a typewriter Tab would — it moves to the next field to the right. If at the Last field on the line, [Tab] will move to the First field on the next line.

• The Shift Tab Key moves to Previous Field.

The [Shift][Tab] key moves to the previous field to the left. If at the First field on the line, [Shift][Tab] will move to the Last field on the previous line.

• The Home Key moves to beginning of Field.

If are at the beginning of the Field, the Home Key moves to the First field on the current Screen.

• The End Key moves to end of Field's Data.

if at the end of the Field's data, the End key moves to the end of the field. If at the end of the Field, the End Key moves to the Last field on the current Screen.

• The Enter Key moves to the next Logical Field.

The Enter Key employs a special behavior flowing through a logical path through the form.

Sane Navigation