Re: Interface Design
- From: Jeff Lait <torespondisfutile@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 09 Jul 2007 17:24:04 -0700
On Jul 9, 6:45 pm, Jakub Debski <debski.ja...@xxxxx> wrote:
Yet another vi fanatic/reinventer...Another quick dismissal without even bothering to read the text.
I did read the text.
I'm sorry. It is just that when you replied by harping that the
keyboard is not always the best solution I had to wonder. The author
made absolutely no pretense that the keyboard was always optimal.
Quite the opposite, they were clear in pointing out many tasks they
felt were superior.
Modern interfaces allow to do the same action using different
approaches. The keyboard is not always the best solution, because it
drasticly incrases learning curve. For that reason f.e. context menus
came.
In text editor you can save a document by pressing ctrl+s or choose
proper menu option. There are much more options that are commonly used
to, but not frequent, like printing. Forcing user to remeber keyboard
shortcut for them would be nothing but sadistic...
Nowhere did he force the user to memorize a keyboard shortcut. He
merely set it up in a way that the user will naturally memorize the
keyboard shortcut.
His second proposal of menu replacement is not better than path
fulfilling of filesystem in a terminal console (chars+tab).
You say that as if tab completion in filenames were not a good
thing :>
In fact it requires more writing than choosing the most used option by
keyboard shortcut (ctrl+s to save), because of disambiguation. You have
to press keys until you get through the full "menu path" to get a
needed option. What kind of shortcut is that? ;)
This is what I mean about your interpretation not being open minded.
You have already decided it is a bad thing. The answer to your
question is obvious: menu selection with typeahead is clearly
orthoganal to shortcuts.
Maybe you could fix this problem by adding some "intelligence" like:
s = Save
s- = Save-As
but what to do with "Save All"?
sa = Save All
but
sa is also beginning of Save...
Maybe addition of special char is the answer
:sa = Save All?
any Vi similarities? ;)
None whatsoever. vi's solution is that save is :w while save as is :w
newfilename. He isn't proposing the opaque typing system of vi or
traditional CLIs. Both have been long crippled by their reliance on a
80x25 display.
Using something like MSVC, as you type in a function it provides a
constant tooltip informing you the possible completion. Then, when
filling out the parameters, the tooltip follows along tracking which
parameter you are currently typing. Your argument is that this would
be considered the same as Ctrl-D in CLIs. It isn't, however, when it
becomes instant and visual all things change.
From this point it's only a step for Vi-like shortcutism which probably
he will introduce in the next article ;)
His current point of view was invented long time ago and is commonly
used there, where it suits, that is browsing hierarchical text
structures that _change_. It's optimal only for that.
I am not at all convinced. My menu usage is divided into two tasks:
1) Picking a known option off a menu. This I'd say is probably equal
in the two systems. The deciding factor is if it is the sort of
program I have my hands on the keyboard or not. Photoshop, I want to
use the mouse. Word, I want the keyboard.
2) Exploring the menus looking for an option. Here the keyboard
system excels. Exploded menu, doing brief type aheads of likely
options to see if they show up. Instead of constantly hovering a
mouse around opening a menu, trying to read it while obscured by a
mouse, and, worst of all, trying to desperately keep from closing the
menu from some incorrect mouse movement.
Personally I memorize shortcuts (real shortcuts) using the menu a few
dozen times. In normal menu you have a shortcut written on the right.
When it's really useful (frequent usage) I learn it without any
efforts.
Doing GUI for one application once I made a special version that
counted menu selection during a week of usage by beta testers. That
gave me the answer which keyboard shortcuts were the best. And there
were only 7 menu positions worth to shortcut.
But why do I have to go to the menu to learn those shortcuts? If
there are only 7, it would be a lot easier to learn if Ctrl brought up
an overlay of possibilities.
The underlining thesis of the article has not been addressed,
however. It is foolish to leave the keyboard underutilized. It is a
hundred keys suitable for discrete actions. Different physical input
devices are good for different uses. The mouse *can* be one's sole
control, but so could the keyboard. Neither is ideal.
Consider setting the volume on a laptop. Keyboard up and down keys
suck as they are needlessly discrete and require chording. Software
sliders suck because you have to plug in your mouse/use touch pad. A
simple hardware dial on the side of the case with a nice click
position for off is ideal. One can set the volume with the machine on
or off and not have to futz around with any unnecessary UI.
In any case, all discussion of efficiency is irrelevant in this
newsgroup. An important part of any game is a sub-optimal UI.
--
Jeff Lait
(POWDER: http://www.zincland.com/powder)
.
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