Context Menus (was: Re: FOSDEM Aftermath - the Hotel / Notes from preparing and giving my talk)

[Lars Sonchocky-Helldorf]

I am going to answer several mails at once again

Von: Richard Frith-Macdonald <richard@tiptree.demon.co.uk>
Datum: 21. Februar 2009 11:32:26 MEZ

> GNUstep has always had context menus... they were available in  
> NeXTstep.
> That being said, they are used so infrequently that they may be  
> buggy for all I know.
> The thing about context menus is that they are controlled by the  
> application (of course), so they only exist if application  
> programmers want them to.
> I think context menus are rarely useful, and it's generally better  
> to try and deign a good on-screen interface rather than depend on  
> pop-up menus and tool tips (though both have their place  
> occasionally).

Von: "Riccardo Mottola" <multix@ngi.it>
Datum: 21. Februar 2009 13:29:02 MEZ

> Please no. Conext-menus are bad design. Full stop. Every action you  
> can do should be available elsewhere. Given that, a context-menu  
> can be a shortcut (but you should absolutely not rely on them).  
> Having them readily available leads to design choices where you  
> need them. I just think about terrible Mac and Windows apps.
> However, context menus are possible on GNUstep too: just use latest  
> GNUmail. If there is a context menu, you get that one, if not, you  
> get the full menu.
> We have our UI behaviour and I don't see a good reason to modify it  
> here: it leaves everything possible, but guides you in a certain  
> design, which is good.

I also think that overboarding context sensitive menus should not be  
the sole way that certain things can be done. That's maybe the case  
in some environments where usability is generally sub par (e.g. MS  
Windows) and that's what gives context menus a bad name for some users.

I know context menus from Mac OS X - where a user interface guideline  
( http://developer.apple.com/documentation/userexperience/Conceptual/ 
AppleHIGuidelines/XHIGMenus/chapter_17_section_5.html ) says that:

"Include a small subset of the most commonly used commands in the  
appropriate context. For example, Edit menu commands should appear in  
the contextual menu for highlighted text, but a Save or a Print  
command should not.
Always ensure that contextual menu items are also available as menu  
commands. A contextual menu is hidden by default and a user might not  
know it exists, so it should never be the only way to access a  
command. In particular, you should not use a contextual menu as the  
only way to access an advanced or power-user feature."

If those rules are followed context menus have proven as a quite  
helpful shortcut to appointed functionality - if I don't remember a  
certain menu command I don't have to search all the menus for it but  
just have to right click the item I want to manipulate.

Often things are not just black and white, often it's the amount of  
something that makes the difference: No salt in a soup and the soup  
is flavorless, one pound of salt in a soup and the soup is oversalt.


regards,

        Lars