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RE: [Bug-gnubg] Good beta release! (Suggestions)


From: Ian Shaw
Subject: RE: [Bug-gnubg] Good beta release! (Suggestions)
Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 14:18:10 +0100


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Albert Silver [mailto:address@hidden
> Sent: Monday, May 17, 2004 1:57 PM
> To: Ian Shaw; 'Richard Anderson'; 'Øystein Johansen'
> Cc: address@hidden
> Subject: RE: [Bug-gnubg] Good beta release! (Suggestions)
> 
> 
> 
> > > > You're right, but there is a space problem as well. I see
> > > > some GUIs uses a triangular arrow down for these kind of
> > > > things. Do you think that would be better?
> > > >
> > >
> > > "Set" and "..." are the same number of characters, so I don't
> > > think this
> > > would cause a space problem.  "..." is not very intuitive.  A
> > > triangular
> > > arrow is not as intuitive as "Set", "Setting", "Opt" or "Options".
> > >
> > 
> > "Set" and "..." may each be three characters, but they 
> aren't the same
> > length when using a proportional font. Compare with the "Sho" of
> "Show".
> > 
> > I find the "..." notation completely intuitive. As a windows user, I
> am
> > used to seeing "..." on a menu to indicate that a further 
> dialogue box
> > will appear. For example, look at File-Save As compared to File-Save
> on
> > almost any Windows program.
> 
> I agree that I know what it means, but disagree that even 20% of users
> will know this. I doubt to the extreme that most users have any idea
> what the "..." stand for.
> 
Hi Albert, glad to see you're still around.

I would agree that "intuitive" is not really the correct word. Perhaps 
"familiar" would be better.

After all, it is not intuitive how to use a clutch pedal on a car, but once 
you've used it once, the user interface is consistent across all cars and is 
therefore familiar and usable. I see the "..." feature in the same way, except 
that a clutch pedal doesn't have a friendly tooltip popping up when you hover 
your foot over it.

You may be right that <20% will know this intuitively. But I suggest that 
anyone who would find it useful would quickly discover it. I'm not convinced 
that "Set" is much better, considering that it adds more text to clutter up the 
line of buttons. I think that "..." is pretty well recognized as meaning, 
"there's more, there's more", at least in English.

Of course, this a personal viewpoint rather than the "one true way", but since 
someone had expressed an opposing view, I thought it worth posting a counter 
argument in favour of the status quo, which I find simple and elegant.

I know that user interface is an area you give a lot of thought, and if we can 
get a better option then I'm all for it, but sometimes you have to make a trade 
off for the sake of aesthetics or screen space. 

-- Ian




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