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Follow these design guidelines to create professional, user-friendly, and maintainable Calcs Builder templates. These best practices will help you build templates that are easy to use, reliable, and scalable.

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Template Design Principles

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User-Centered Design

Core Principles:
  1. Understand Your Users: Know who will use your template and their skill level
  2. Simplify Complexity: Break complex calculations into understandable steps
  3. Provide Guidance: Include clear instructions and examples
  4. Design for Efficiency: Minimize clicks and data entry

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Progressive Disclosure

Implementation:
  1. Start Simple: Show basic options first
  2. Reveal Advanced: Show advanced options when needed
  3. Logical Flow: Guide users through a natural progression
  4. Contextual Help: Provide help when users need it

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Consistency

Design Standards:
  1. Naming Conventions: Use consistent variable and widget names
  2. Layout Patterns: Follow consistent page and section layouts
  3. Color Coding: Use consistent colors for similar elements
  4. Terminology: Use consistent terms throughout the template

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Widget Design Best Practices

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Input Widgets

Guidelines:
  1. Clear Labels: Use descriptive, professional labels 
    ✅ Good: "Beam Length (L)"
❌ Poor: "Length"
  2. Appropriate Units: Always include units with numerical inputs 
    ✅ Good: "Beam Length (ft)"
❌ Poor: "Beam Length"
  3. Reasonable Defaults: Provide sensible default values 
    // Good defaults for structural calculations
beam_length: 20 ft
beam_width: 12 in
dead_load: 100 plf
live_load: 150 plf
  4. Input Validation: Validate inputs to prevent errors 
    // Validation rules
beam_length: min=1, max=100, message="Length must be between 1 and 100 feet"
safety_factor: min=1.0, max=3.0, message="Safety factor must be between 1.0 and 3.0"

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Equation Widgets

Best Practices:
  1. Descriptive Names: Use clear variable names 
    ✅ Good: max_moment, section_modulus_req, utilization_ratio
❌ Poor: mm, sr, ur
  2. Break Down Calculations: Use intermediate variables for clarity 
    // Instead of one complex formula
stress = (load * length * 12) / (width * height^2 / 6)

// Use intermediate steps
moment = load * length * 12
section_modulus = width * height^2 / 6
stress = moment / section_modulus
  3. Include Units: Always specify units for calculated results 
    max_moment: "ft-lbs"
section_modulus: "in³"
stress: "psi"
  4. Error Handling: Handle edge cases and errors gracefully 
    // Safe division
stress = IF(section_modulus > 0, moment / section_modulus, 0)

// Handle invalid inputs
result = IF(beam_length > 0 AND beam_width > 0, calculation, "Invalid inputs")

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Lookup Widgets

Design Guidelines:
  1. Clear Options: Use descriptive option names 
    ✅ Good: "Douglas Fir-Larch (E = 1,600,000 psi)"
❌ Poor: "DFL"
  2. Logical Ordering: Order options logically (alphabetical, numerical, or by frequency)
  3. Default Selection: Provide a sensible default option
  4. Fallback Values: Include fallback values for failed lookups

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Template Structure Best Practices

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Organization

Recommended Structure: 
1. Introduction/Overview
2. Input Parameters
3. Calculations
4. Results/Output
5. Validation/Checks
6. Summary/Report

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Section Design

Guidelines:
  1. Logical Grouping: Group related widgets together
  2. Clear Headers: Use descriptive section headers
  3. Consistent Layout: Follow consistent layout patterns
  4. Progressive Complexity: Start simple, build complexity

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Page Design

Best Practices:
  1. Single Purpose: Each page should have a clear, single purpose
  2. Reasonable Length: Keep pages to manageable length (20-30 widgets max)
  3. Clear Navigation: Provide clear navigation between pages
  4. Contextual Information: Include relevant context and instructions

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Calculation Design

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Formula Best Practices

Guidelines:
  1. Readability: Write formulas that are easy to read and understand 
    // Good: Clear and readable
total_load = dead_load + live_load
max_moment = (total_load * beam_length^2) / 8

// Poor: Hard to read
tm = (dl + ll) * bl^2 / 8
  2. Documentation: Include comments for complex calculations 
    // Calculate maximum moment for simply supported beam
max_moment = (total_load * beam_length^2) / 8

// Convert moment to stress using section modulus
stress = (max_moment * 12) / section_modulus
  3. Validation: Include validation checks in calculations 
    // Only calculate if inputs are valid
stress = IF(beam_length > 0 AND section_modulus > 0, 
            (max_moment * 12) / section_modulus, 
            0)

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Error Handling

Strategies:
  1. Input Validation: Validate all inputs before calculations
  2. Division by Zero: Always check for division by zero
  3. Range Checks: Verify results are within expected ranges
  4. Graceful Degradation: Provide fallback values when calculations fail

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User Experience Design

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Visual Design

Guidelines:
  1. Consistent Styling: Use consistent colors, fonts, and spacing
  2. Visual Hierarchy: Use size and color to show importance
  3. White Space: Use adequate spacing for readability
  4. Professional Appearance: Maintain a professional, clean design

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Interaction Design

Best Practices:
  1. Clear Actions: Make it obvious what users can do
  2. Immediate Feedback: Provide immediate feedback for user actions
  3. Error Prevention: Design to prevent errors before they happen
  4. Helpful Messages: Provide clear, helpful error messages

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Accessibility

Guidelines:
  1. Keyboard Navigation: Ensure all functions work with keyboard
  2. Screen Reader Support: Use proper labels and descriptions
  3. Color Contrast: Ensure adequate color contrast
  4. Text Size: Use readable text sizes

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Content Best Practices

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Writing Guidelines

Standards:
  1. Clear Language: Use clear, concise language
  2. Consistent Terminology: Use consistent terms throughout
  3. Professional Tone: Maintain a professional, helpful tone
  4. Action-Oriented: Use action-oriented language for instructions

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Instructions and Help

Guidelines:
  1. Step-by-Step: Provide clear step-by-step instructions
  2. Examples: Include relevant examples
  3. Contextual Help: Provide help when users need it
  4. Progressive Disclosure: Show help progressively as needed

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Documentation

Best Practices:
  1. Assumptions: Document calculation assumptions
  2. References: Include relevant code references
  3. Limitations: Clearly state template limitations
  4. Updates: Keep documentation current

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Performance Best Practices

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Optimization

Guidelines:
  1. Efficient Calculations: Use efficient calculation methods
  2. Minimize Redundancy: Avoid redundant calculations
  3. Lazy Loading: Load content only when needed
  4. Caching: Use caching for expensive operations

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Testing

Strategies:
  1. Unit Testing: Test individual calculations
  2. Integration Testing: Test complete workflows
  3. User Testing: Test with actual users
  4. Performance Testing: Test with various data sizes

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Maintenance Best Practices

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Version Control

Guidelines:
  1. Regular Backups: Keep regular backups of templates
  2. Version Tracking: Track changes and versions
  3. Change Documentation: Document all changes
  4. Rollback Plan: Have a plan for rolling back changes

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Quality Assurance

Process:
  1. Code Review: Review template design and calculations
  2. Testing: Test thoroughly before deployment
  3. User Feedback: Collect and incorporate user feedback
  4. Continuous Improvement: Continuously improve templates

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Common Pitfalls to Avoid

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Design Pitfalls

  1. Over-Complexity: Don’t make templates unnecessarily complex
  2. Poor Organization: Don’t organize content poorly
  3. Inconsistent Design: Don’t use inconsistent design patterns
  4. Missing Validation: Don’t skip input validation

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Technical Pitfalls

  1. Circular References: Avoid circular dependencies
  2. Hard-Coded Values: Don’t hard-code values that should be inputs
  3. Poor Error Handling: Don’t ignore error cases
  4. Inefficient Calculations: Don’t use inefficient calculation methods

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User Experience Pitfalls

  1. Poor Instructions: Don’t provide unclear instructions
  2. Missing Help: Don’t leave users without help
  3. Inconsistent Interface: Don’t use inconsistent interface patterns
  4. Poor Feedback: Don’t provide poor user feedback

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Template Review Checklist

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Design Review

  • Template follows consistent design patterns
  • Widgets are properly organized and grouped
  • Navigation is clear and intuitive
  • Visual design is professional and clean

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Functionality Review

  • All calculations work correctly
  • Input validation is comprehensive
  • Error handling is graceful
  • Performance is acceptable

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User Experience Review

  • Instructions are clear and helpful
  • Examples are relevant and useful
  • Interface is intuitive and easy to use
  • Feedback is immediate and helpful

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Quality Review

  • Template has been thoroughly tested
  • Documentation is complete and current
  • Assumptions and limitations are documented
  • Template is ready for deployment
For more specific guidance, see our Performance Tips and Common Errors guides.
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