Hi Grace, Steven, Pete and the other programmers,

I think that part of the communications disconnect we are running into here is that of jargon and viewpoint.

When Grace talks of Standard Windows Program, I'm sure that has much more meaning to it than what comes across to the non-programmer. You see, from a non-programmer's viewpoint if it runs on Windows it is a standard Windows Program as opposed to a Web app or a Macintosh program.

And it gets even more vague, because a lot of Windows 8 stuff looks a lot more like a Web App or a Mobile app. And Windows Desktop apps themselves have had lots of different looks over the ages and were sometime more dependent on what the coding/authoring system was than the OS they ran on. Think of all those Borland-built shareware apps - you could spot those a mile away.

The expectations of what is feasible or desirable also vary. The backend/programmer's viewpoint is quite different than that of frontend UI developer and both are very different from that of the customer/enduser. See endless debate on the why and the how of how dark vs light interfaces are coded, changed and used. And everyone of these three groups think that their job/use is the most important and that the project should start and flow and be based on their viewpoint.

But both the front and back end team have to work together to generate a great (or even adequate product). It does no good for the front end designers to deliver a design that is unreasonably hard to implement or maintain or scale. It does the programmers no good to do their work without a clear idea of what the output, the presentation will be. And user's, particularly the artistically inclined, won't use the product if their needs for functionality, dicoverablity and over-all aesthetics aren't met. And programmers won't program if their basic needs are not met and their voice is not heard and neither will the graphic artists, document writers and promotion-minded members of the project.

So to the programmer's I ask, what are the requirements for a Standard Windows Program?

If the rectangular program window ( not a floating app) includes:
1. A title bar: Program logo --> Program Title --> Minimize Restore/Down and Close buttons
2. A menu bar: with File Help About
3. Content Window ( the space between the titlebar/menu and any vertical or horizontal scroll bars or status bar.

A. A Background similar to the pasteboard background layer or body background on a web page or wallpaper.
B.The multi-page form field that contains the options that the user will select or deslect or otherwise modify.
a. The form itself uses check boxes, sliders, drop-down, list boxes, form entry fields etc.
C. Controls for the form - choose which form page displays
D. Some kind of control that chooses which program's registry options are being worked on.
E. Some kind of control buttons like OK Cancel Apply Finish etc.
F. Maybe tool tips or information buttons bringing up context sensitive help or just a help or support buttons
G. Status Bar

Questions - must the the form field B be rectangular? Microsoft's Page, Changing the Appearance of Windows Forms has a section on How to: Create Nonrectangular Windows Forms and other forms related info. Would creating a non-rectangular form be possible given the programming tools you have or is it unreasonably difficult?

The controls within the form field (B.a) do they have to be the default ones provided by the OS or your programming library or can custom ones be used. Again, once custom looking sliders or check boxes or toggles are designed, and provided to the programming team in whatever formats and sizes they need to be, are they unreasonably hard to use and or maintain?

Pete brought up the idea of scaleablity. I can see where having the controls in a circle could make it difficult to add new tabs. New artwork at the very least would be required (although I think you will always have a stable of capable and willing artists available), but I'm guessing that the coordinates would also have to be adjusted in the code which adds complexity. So...

Is it possible to have a vertical list of tab buttons that is not visually attached to some kind of non-rectangular form field display. And could those tab buttons have a distinctive look the way web menus can?

Once some of these questions are answered then I think the design part of the team can come up with reasonable, but graphically interesting designs that meet programming needs.

Good Programming takes time and it doesn't occur in a vacuum - that is understood. But good graphical interfaces also don't happen overnight. I truly believe that they have to evolve side by side.