Captools/net has been designed to combine the best features of MS-Windows desktop functionality for data viewing and manipulation with the data access and remote functionality offered via the internet.  Accordingly Captools/net employs applications that use both MS-Windows based interfaces and web-browser based interfaces.

 

Many Captools/net end user functions, such as imports, reporting, help, and some batch functions are provided to the end user through a web-browser based interface.  The web-browser interface has an advantage in that it does not require any software, other than the web-browser, in order to provide end-user functionality.  This is the ideal situation in a multi-user client/server environment, because it eliminates the need for software updates on the end user's computers, simplifying maintenance for an information technology department staff.  See Web Browser for further details on the Captools/net browser functionality.

 

One drawback of a browser-based interface is that it is relatively clumsy for data input and editing compared to an MS-Windows application.  Accordingly, we've implemented these functions in an MS-Windows based application, the "Captools/net Desktop", that runs on the end user's computer.   The Captools/net Desktop gives the end user a window within which they can view and edit data belonging to them.  Because it runs directly on MS-Windows, it is able to make use of the powerful and refined MS-Windows graphical user interface (GUI) functions that support efficient data viewing and editing.  See CT/net Desktop in the next topic for more details.