When developing a database the screen resolution of your clients may come in to question.

Currently, about 60% of all monitors are set at 1024×768 pixels. In comparison, only about 17% use 800×600 so it’s obviously less important to aim at perfection for these small-display users. What’s equally obvious, however, is that you can’t simply ignore 17% of your customer segment by providing a frozen layout that requires more screen space than they have available.

Screen sizes vary among users. Window size variability is even greater, since most users rarely maximize their windows (especially if they have large screens, multi task, copy paste or view more than one window at a time).

Therefore, when planning your design it is wise to go with 800x600 and fluid form elements which will accommodate those using lower screen resolutions, those that maximize and the rest of us whom rarely maximize our windows.

Be aware that 800x600 pixels is the size of your entire window and not the size of your usable canvas!

It gets even more convoluted when you come to realize that windows themes are not standard therefore the XP theme takes up more canvas that the classic windows theme and the standard Alpha 5 toolbars, window bars and status bars also detract from your usable canvas.

One way to work with these inconsistencies is to design for the smaller canvas and fill any remaining space with your form.

Understanding that your forms are your usable canvas we now set about the task of figuring the height and width of the usable canvas with the trial and error method.

Trial and error method: Make sure you are using the larger (XP) theme, set your database autoexec to open a centered 800x600 window create a new form and start experimenting.

Basic canvas size charts: