On 07 Sep 2001 12:48:21 -0700, Kenny Graunke wrote:
> _NO_. We *can* assume that we have a close button. The default settings will
> be to use sawfish or another good Window Manager which _WILL_ have a close
> button. Most WM themes I have seen have a close button. Why is this?
> Examining how my friends and family use their computers, they _always_ use
> the close button for windows and everything. A [Close] button in the dialog
> simply wastes screen space and clutters the dialogs. I honestly don't care
> if people who use TWM or such don't have a close button. They can figure out
> some way to deal with it. The vast _majority_ of users have close buttons. I
> think many more people have small resolution screens than people who do not
> have close buttons. This seems like catering to the 1.2% against the 98.8%.
It may the case that you don't need to worry about those users without
close buttons on their windows, but that doesn't mean that one should
eliminate the close buttons (whatever the label) from the dialog. The
vast majority of windows can be closed with a button on the window or
with a pull-down menu. The exceptions are so rare that whenever I
encounter them, I find myself pondering for all of about 5 seconds
before I remember the close button on the title bar.
The dialog ought to typically walk the user through a series of
operations. The button on the dialog is the user's way of communicating
his intentions to the dialog ("no, i didn't mean to do that", or "I'm
done now", or whatever). Having the only way to exit that conversation
being clicking on the close-box breaks the conversation away from the
focus of the rest of the dialog.
> If we cannot even assume such basic simple functionality, there is _NO WAY_
> we will ever be able to succeed at creating a cohesive desktop usable by
> the vast majority of the human population. I'm sorry, but at some point
> these assumptions become absolutely ridiclous.
Assuming a close box may be a good assumption to make, but that doesn't
mean its a good one to rely upon.
> > If we use this strategy with no buttons in instant-apply dialogs and
> > only relying on WM buttons, a user can easily put himself in the
> > position of an unusable desktop just by trying out some themes...
>
> So they can figure out how to close the windows via some other way (a
> keybinding, a right click menu on the titlebar, or ...). Or they can change
> back to a theme that isn't so ridiculously broken.
I thought we were trying to make things easier to use....
James
--
It is by caffeine alone that I put my mind in motion;
It is by the leaves of tea that my thoughts acquire speed;
The hands aquire shakes; the shakes become a warning;
It is by caffeine alone I put my thoughts in motion.
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