Using widgets instead of multiple text screens

Applications designed for dumb terminals (TUI mode) use various techniques to ensure that all display fits in an 80x25 screen. This may mean iterating through a number of dialogs using different forms, only displaying certain columns in an record list, using abbreviations for labels, etc.

With a graphical user interface (GUI mode), windows are wider, re-sizable and can contain different sort of layout elements and widgets, displaying much more information as in a simple dump terminal. For example, TABLE containers display record lists and have the ability to scroll horizontally so that you can show more than 78 characters of data.

Dump-terminal oriented programs should be reviewed to take advantage of the GUI possibilities. However, do not end up with over-crowded screens, that will be unreadable to the end user.