Pro Business Applications with Silverlight 5

Creating the Data Entry User Interface

A typical data entry form consists of a number of editable fields—such as text boxes, drop-down lists, and check boxes, each with a corresponding label displaying the name of that field, and a tab order assigned such that users can tab between fields in a logical fashion. Ideally, the users should be able to enter data into the form and submit it without ever having to use the mouse (i.e., the process should be able to be completely keyboard driven), making the data entry process smoother and more efficient. As a developer, you likely will have created countless data entry forms in your career, so this will be a fairly familiar task for you. Let's take a look at how to create a data entry form that achieves ...