Re: [Usability] List View Column Header Sorting

[Thorsten Wilms <t_w_ freenet de>]

On Wed, Feb 21, 2007 at 05:19:45PM +0000, Calum Benson wrote:

> >  The 'Three dialog problems' thread also reminded me of the list view 
> >  column header sorting direction issue. What does a downward facing 
> >  arrow mean ... ?
> 
> The HIG specifies exactly what each direction should mean; however,
> whichever one we picked, some people disagreed with it and decided to do
> the opposite :/
> 
> http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gup/hig/2.0/controls-lists.html#controls-lists-sortable


What I meant to express is that I can't remember the direction mapping, 
even though I tried. I have memorised dozens and dozens of shortcuts 
for several applications, but this doesn't stick at all. I expect it 
to be no different for most users.
So if I use sorting, I have to check the list itself to determine 
the direction, often clicking a second or third time. This takes 
time, maybe not much, but it _feels_ so inefficient.

An alternative to what's in my mockup would be to write out 
A - Z, Small - Large, Old - New
flipping the order on clicking. There's a space problem, 
but seeing the first half only should be enough.


-- 
Thorsten Wilms

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http://www.printfection.com/thorwil