Multi-forms is a deprecated feature in 6.3

The multi-form feature of VTA Backoffice was put in for backward compability between VTA 6.0 and VTA 5.2.  Now that we are several versions in to VTA 6 the multi-form feature is deprecated and may not be supported in future versions.  You can check if you are using the multi-forms feature by looking at your Profile in Backoffice.

RISC has recommended since 6.0 that the Multiple Forms box be left unchecked.  There are many reasons not to use multi-forms:

1. Multi-forms causes a signficant hit on performance.  Each time you open a window in your web browser you are using up a lot of memory as an entire new copy of the browser must open.
2. Some things are just not possible in web browsers when multiple windows are used.  Communication between windows is difficult at best.
3. We are maintaining two sets of code, one for regular browser windows and one for multi-forms, decreasing our turn around time on bug fixes and new features.
4. We are trying to reduce or eliminate pop-up windows wherever feasible.  Pop-up windows work very poorly (or not at all) on mobile devices and this limits portability of VTA.
5. It is not “standard” for a web application to use multiple windows, making VTA Backoffice inconsistent with most other applications.

If you are using multi-forms now, you may want to try using VTA Backoffice with multi-forms disabled.  You will likely notice an improvement in system performance.

Art Werkenthin

Art Werkenthin is president of RISC, Inc. and has over 30 years' experience working with LMS systems in the Oil & Gas, Retail, Finance and other industries. Mr. Werkenthin holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an M.B.A. in Information Systems Management from the University of Texas. Mr. Werkenthin is a member of the ADL cmi5 committee and frequently presents on cmi5 and xAPI. Follow him on Twitter @AWerkenthin for xAPI and cmi5 updates, as well as blog post announcements.