I am wondering if view mode is necessary in web apps and specifically ones with a lot of data manipulation (e.g. CRM software). Forms could show up in edit mode (assuming the user has enough rights) completely bypassing view mode. On the other hand, reading data in text-boxes can be tiresome.

A somewhat nice solution is going into edit mode after double clicking a field (like Flickr does for titles and descriptions). But then again theirs are not full blown, complicated forms. Moreover I recently found Tim Taylor’s site where he displays his work on this front (in place editing).

The truth is it’s too late to even consider doing something like that for Magna (plus I’m not sure it’s a better approach). However I’ll certainly research this more in the future. In the meantime, if you happen to know any application (with many forms) using in place editing, please mail me or leave a comment here.