Differences between the Windows and web clients

Web clients do not support some of the diagnostics tools available in the Windows client.

In addition, other limitations that web client has, compared with the Windows client, include these:

  • The web client does not support the "auto-insert" (*) row in grids. There is an accessibility-related difference: tabbing inside of a grid in the web client moves focus out of the grid and into the next component in the form that can receive focus.
  • The web client does not support custom columns for the data views even if added in a Windows client.
  • The web client user preferences are stored and loaded from a database.
  • The web client does not support creating calculated columns in a DataView.
  • The web client does not support the use of the response types Execute Exe, Goto Explorer Folder, or RunExe for form event handlers. Other response types are supported.
  • The web client does not include cut, copy, or paste options in right-click menus.
  • The web client do not support all the options under User Preferences that are available to the Windows client.

    See Setting user preferences in the Windows client and Setting User Preferences in a web client

  • The web client does not support new message alerts for Application Event System.
  • Double-clicking is not supported in mobile forms, that is, forms that use a .mobi extension.
  • Tap-and-hold in mobile browsers is treated as a right-click.
  • The web client overrides browser settings when displaying "in-application" values such as currency values and date/time settings. The values displayed use the locale settings as specified.
  • These options on the Form menu are not available in the web client:
    • Page setup
    • Print preview
    • Print
    • Export to File
    • Workspaces
  • The Explorer displays and works slightly differently in the two clients.
  • The sub-menu on the DataView Results form works differently in the two clients.
  • The View menu in the web client does not include these options (that are present in the Windows client):
    • Activate Next Collection
    • Home Cursor
    • Warnings
  • Several other options on the View menu have slightly different labels in the two clients but function essentially the same.
  • In the web client, the option to display the status bar is selected from the user preferences in the View tab.
  • The web client does not include an option on the View menu to display or hide the status bar.
  • In the web client, the CAPS and NUM lock keyboard option is not displayed.
  • The Timer response type for form events behaves a little differently in the two clients:
    • In the web client, the minimum valid value for the Timer is 5 seconds, as opposed to the one-second minimum for the Windows client.
    • In the web client, the Timer response type works only if the form has the focus, as opposed to simply being active, as in the Windows client.
  • In the web client, if you set the User Preferences default Language to something other than US English, you must ensure that language is actually installed on the system. If you do not, the system generates 404 "Help not found" error messages for any requests for the help.
  • In the Web Designer, you can add a component to the form panel and navigate the designer using keyboard shortcuts, which increases usability and accessibility. See Shortcuts grouped by key combinations.
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