Chapter 7

Jay BabbAndrew BatesSteve Haroz

Display limitation

Long, functionally grouped menus are preferred over deep menus.

Resolution problem 1996: 1024 x 768 = 768 k 1999: 1600 x 1200 = 1875 k Dual display: 2048 x 1536 x 2 = 6144

k

Task-Related OrganizationDecomposition

Book chaptersProgram ModulesSpeciesRestaurant menus

Computer menusDesign difficultyStudy: organized vs. disorganizedStudy: category vs. alphabetical

Types of Menus

Single Menus Can be a “pop-up”

Binary Menus Yes/No, True/False, Male/Female Mnemonic menus are popular Orientation OK/Cancel Dude, you’re using Windows 3.11

pictures…

Types of Menus Continued

Multiple-item menus Different options Radio buttons

Multiple-selection menus Check boxes

Pull-down and pop-up menus File, Edit, View… (shortcut keys) Pie menus? (crack kills…pie menus do

too)

Types of Menus Continued

Scrolling and 2D menus Alphasliders Search functionality rocks…try it. Embedded links (duh) Iconic menus, toolbars, and palettes

Types of Menus Continued

Linear sequences and multiple menus Wizards

Tree-structured menus Creating classifications (tabs)

Depth versus breadth Breadth wins…I KNEW depth didn’t

matter Some more math crap…blah, blah, blah

Types of Menus Continued

Task-related grouping in tree structures Create groups of logically similar items Form groups that will cover all possibilities Make sure items are non-overlapping Use familiar terminology, but distinguish

Menu maps (IMHO…old school) Acyclic and cyclic menu networks

Item Presentation Sequence

Types of sequencing Time Numeric ordering Physical properties Alphabetic Related items Frequently used items Important items

Form Fillin

Guidelines: Meaningful and descriptive title Use familiar field names and captions that

are short and meaningful. Keep terminology and abbreviations

consistent Convenient cursor and keyboard input Prevents unwanted input Signal completion of a task

Form Fillin

Short and descriptive field labels Buttons describe their actions

List and Combo Boxes

Scroll boxes are good for long lists of items

Combo boxes allow the user to locate an item in a long list easily by typing the first few letters.

Coded Fields

An input field’s format should describe its expected input.

Should reject bad input

Telephone: ( _ _ _ ) _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ ( 800 333–6262 )

Time: _ _ : _ _ _ _ (9:45 AM )

Date: _ _ / _ _ / _ _ (01/29/04)

Dialog Boxes

Open, Save, Find, Spell Check, etc. Combines menu selection and form

fillin Shaped to fit the situation Tabbed dialog boxes can make

some tasks hard to find Create a guidelines document for

consistency

Dialog Box Guidelines

Descriptive title and field labels with consistent terminology

Group related tasks Standard Buttons (OK, Cancel) Prevent unexpected input Not too large– should not obscure objects on the

screen

Form fillin? !!!!!!

New Ideas (in 1998)

Should users be able to change the structure their menus?

New layout designs Better descriptions of tasks Screen placement of forms and

dialog boxes

Summary

Arrange menus according to task Make menus and forms easy to

navigate Use descriptive names for menu

items, form labels and dialog box captions.

Use software tools to quickly create menus, forms and dialog boxes