If you choose to keep the Save button, it should be consistent across the tabs: If one thing needs to be saved after it is entered, then all things should. no matter if it is typed directly in a text field, or created through a dialog. As long as it looks like a row in one of the tabs, it should behave the same as the rest of them.

In the Associates tab, an item can have several states. An associate can be entered, and when saving, a confirmation box could clarify "Now sending 3 new invites to A, B and C. [OK/Cancel]. Then it turns to "awaiting invitation acceptance" and so on.

In the Projects tab, pressing the Discard button would also have to be confirmed as all the data of entered projects would be lost.

If you choose to keep the Save button, I would not require a click per tab, but a click per profile. Hence the button should not reside inside the tabs, but next to all of them.

And I would also add a Discard button, if I had a Save button.

^{download bmml source – Wireframes created with Balsamiq Mockups}

Consistency of the Save button

If you choose to keep the Save button, it should be consistent across the tabs: If one thing needs to be saved after it is entered, then all things should. no matter if it is typed directly in a text field, or created through a dialog. As long as it looks like a row in one of the tabs, it should behave the same as the rest of them.

If you choose to keep the Save button, I would not require a decision to save per tab, but per profile. Hence the button should not reside inside the tabs, but next to all of them.

And I would also add a Discard button, if I had a Save button.

^{download bmml source – Wireframes created with Balsamiq Mockups}

Associates and Projects

Some thoughts on how the less straight-forward content could be handled:

In the Associates tab, an item can have several states. An associate can be entered, and when saving, a confirmation box could clarify "Now sending 3 new invites to A, B and C. [OK/Cancel]. Then it turns to "awaiting invitation acceptance" and so on.

In the Projects tab, pressing the Discard button would also have to be confirmed as all the data of entered projects would be lost.

I would keep the consistancy with the Save button (and a Discard Changes button) on all pages. Or better, locate these buttons outside of the tabs, so that all tabs of the profile are saved or discarded at once.

^{download bmml source – Wireframes created with Balsamiq Mockups}

This introduces a new state for the entered information, where something can be entered - typed, or created through a dialog - and visible in the list, but not yet saved to your project.

In the associates tab, an item can have several states. An associate can be entered, and when saving, a confirmation box could clarify "Now sending 3 new invites to A, B and C. [OK/Cancel]. Then it turns to "awaiting invitation acceptance" and so on.

In the project tab, pressing the Discard button would also have to be confirmed as all the data of entered projects would be lost.

If you choose to keep the Save button, it should be consistent across the tabs: If one thing needs to be saved after it is entered, then all things should. no matter if it is typed directly in a text field, or created through a dialog. As long as it looks like a row in one of the tabs, it should behave the same as the rest of them.

In the Associates tab, an item can have several states. An associate can be entered, and when saving, a confirmation box could clarify "Now sending 3 new invites to A, B and C. [OK/Cancel]. Then it turns to "awaiting invitation acceptance" and so on.

In the Projects tab, pressing the Discard button would also have to be confirmed as all the data of entered projects would be lost.

If you choose to keep the Save button, I would not require a click per tab, but a click per profile. Hence the button should not reside inside the tabs, but next to all of them.

And I would also add a Discard button, if I had a Save button.

^{download bmml source – Wireframes created with Balsamiq Mockups}