Hello everyone,
I am writing a very simple WinForms application with few data-entry forms. But before the user gets to these forms, she has to select which action to take (ie which form to open, possibly after entering a search query). As this application is a rewrite of a legacy custom DOS FoxPro app, the user wants the UI to be as similar (read simple) to the old one as possible. (Please note I do not want to discuss how to persuade the customer to migrate to a more modern UI.)
Now, the UI should look like this:
│--------------│
│ Customers >> │ │-----------------│
│ Invoices │ │ Find customer │
│ -------------│ │ Create new │
│ .. etc.. │ │ Delete customer │
│ -------------│ │-----------------│
│ Exit │
│--------------│
The menu has to be quite large and in the middle of the screen (form). This means that classic MenuStrip is out of the question. Should I create ListBoxes on the fly with the appropriate items? How would you approach this? I already have the navigation structure in stored in objects, I am looking for advice how to present the navigation UI to the user.
Also, in this case keyboard input is essential and more important than mouse interaction.