On Mon, Apr 16, 2001 at 01:24:06PM +0100, Mike Newman wrote: > On 16 Apr 2001 11:31:58 +0100, colin z robertson wrote: > > > Ok, I can see that the user has preferences and the app has settings, > > but if we were to call the configuration dialog that we present to the > > user "Preferences" then we would be implying that the dialog presented > > options in terms of the user's preferences, when actually 99.9% of > > such dialogs present it in terms of the app's settings. > > True enough - is there perhaps a neutral term which translates well > which could strike a balance between the two? There's always "options". To my mind that doesn't have any connotations either way. > > To take the example that Darin Adler used of a browser's max number of > > connections, the user's preference is for "optimal bandwidth usage" or > > perhaps simply "speed". Unfortunately, until we get web browsers with > > AI capabilities (and I'm not holding my breath), we're not going to be > > able to automatically determine the optimal settings and we're going > > to have to present users with those technical questions. While we're > > doing that is it still a good thing to label them "Preferences"? > > I think that in terms of a UI guidelines documents, we ought perhaps to > be encouraging developers to separate the two sorts of configuration > questions - even if its into two distinct tabs within a PropertyBox. I'm not sure about this. In general one wants these things organised by subject. Organising by level of technicality would break this in a lot of cases. > Perhaps we should also advocate the use of a Druid for initial setup. In > my opinion, the first time I see the application window I should be able > to use the program - OK, I may need to tweak it to use the colours, > keys, or fonts of my choice but is should "just work". If there is stuff > an app needs to know to actually function, a druid on first run is ideal > for gathering this info. I like this idea. colin _____________________________ ____ rtnl http://rational.cjb.net c z robertson ndirect co uk icq 13294163
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