Re: [Usability] Standard GUI recipes

[Matthew Paul Thomas <mpt myrealbox com>]

On Jul 12, 2006, at 9:28 AM, Joachim Noreiko wrote:
> I've just noticed this dialog in Evolution:
> http://bugzilla.gnome.org/attachment.cgi?id=68780&action=view
>
> It's a search interface that allows the user to add and remove  
> criteria. It looks sort of similar to the new search in Nautilus,  
> except... it's not. For starters the 'Add' button seems to be on the  
> wrong side, and there are a few other things that a trained eye will  
> notice.

It's not even consistent with itself ... (Compare the position of the  
two Add buttons with the position of the two Remove buttons.)

> Shouldn't this list be designing standard formats for things like  
> this, so there is consistency across the whole desktop, instead of  
> each application devising its own solution?

Yes! A consistent design for things like this is why, for example,  
Apple can advertise to potential switchers: "If you know iTunes, you  
know how to use Mac software ... Many programs feature the same sort of  
library collection, playlist, and search as iTunes, though they may go  
by different names." <http://www.apple.com/getamac/software.html>

Here's a few examples of things that would benefit from consistent  
design:
*   library with folders, smart folders, and/or tags
*   simple boolean filter, as in this case ("all of the following"/
    "any of the following")
*   nested boolean filter (and here's one I prepared (much) earlier:
     
<http://groups.google.com/group/netscape.public.mozilla.mail-news/ 
browse_thread/thread/634552115f0a8906/ 
3720f15f2d8d80a1#3720f15f2d8d80a1>)
*   progress windows (currently a mess in Gnome)
*   panel applets (is it a button, a menu, or two menus? surprise me!)
*   In-window text entry errors ("You must enter your name") and
    warnings ("Choose a longer passphrase for better security")
*   zoom controls (slider or buttons or menu?)

These are things the HIG currently doesn't cover because they're more  
than one control, but (with the exception of progress windows) less  
than an entire window.

> (And for that matter, shouldn't GTK provide ready-built complex  
> components like this?)
> ...

It Depends. To be more precise, it depends on how likely a chosen  
design is to be within zero API changes of the best possible design;  
how easy it is for developers to use; how much less usable any  
inconsistent design is; and how much more likely it is that developers  
will get the design right if it's available in GTK+ than if it's  
specified in the HIG. That equation probably will be different for each  
pattern.

--
Matthew Paul Thomas
http://mpt.net.nz/