Simple tenses refer to time. Time is important.

Below is a dialogue between a

lawyer and a client. The lawyer uses "Did you" because she is looking for a specific
date.

Sam: Did you ever see this film?

Pat: Yeah.
Sam: When was that?

Perfect tenses refer to the act. The action is important. Below is a dialogue between
two friends who are picking out a DVD at the video store.

Sam: Have you ever seen this film?

Pat: Yeah.
Sam: Was it good?

Note that, for some speakers there isn't a difference between "Did you" and "Have
you". They use them interchangeably. For example, 

Ex: Have you eaten?

Ex: Did you eat? 

To me, however, "Have you eaten?" means, I want to know if you ate, and not
when you ate. And "Did you eat?" means, I want to know when you ate:

Hi,

The main difference between the Present Perfect and the Past Simple is the
difference in definite and indefinite time. When I ask the question:

Have you ever lived in France?

I am only interested in whether you have experienced that or not and the actual
time is not relevant.

When I ask: 

Did you ever visit Paris when you lived in France?

I am asking a question about a definite time when you actually lived in France. And
the time is relevant.

Alan
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