steffen@ihu1f.UUCP (10/27/83)
1. Is it clearer to use "enter" or "type" when giving instructions to program users, e.g. Enter ? for help. or Type ? for help. I prefer "type" because it is less ambiguous--"enter" can be confused with the ENTER key on some terminals. 2. When giving in instruction on using a key labeled with a word, should it be referred to as "<TAB>" or "TAB", e.g. Type <TAB> to go the next field. or Type TAB to go the next field. I prefer "TAB" because the use of all caps makes the word stand out without the use of "<>", and eliminates the possibility of confusion because the key label is TAB, not <TAB>. In summary, are these valid human factors judgements, or just my personal preferences? -- Joe Steffen ihu1f!steffen IH 2C-331 x5381
laura@utcsstat.UUCP (Laura Creighton) (10/31/83)
I know some people who type "T" "A" and then a "B" whether you say TAB or <TAB>. If you expect to get a lot of naive people "the TAB key" may be better. Laura Creighton utzoo!utcsstat!laura
dave@utcsrgv.UUCP (Dave Sherman) (10/31/83)
As well as "enter" and "type", you can tell the user to "press"
or "hit" when a single key is involved. In the CAI we have for law
students, the program usually tells them to "type" an answer and
"press" the RETURN key. I find that if you can, it's a good idea
to highlight RETURN, if the terminal can do it.
A side note: in the courseware I am developing, I decided that "DELETE"
or "RUBOUT" might be a bit confusing for students to remember as the
interrupt key. So I change the interrupt key to ESC, and tell them that
they can use this key to "escape the clutches of the program". (When
the press it they get a menu of choices which includes quit, continue,
move on to a new lesson, comment, etc.)
I have found this works very well. All the students seem to remember
ESC. What they don't remember is that it's a *key*. I have had to add
a catch in my input routine to catch the typed tring "esc" and remind
the student "If you want to escape, press the *button* marked ESC!".
Dave Sherman
The Law Society of Upper Canada
Toronto
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{allegra,cornell,decvax,ihnp4,linus,utzoo}!utcsrgv!lsuc!daventt@dciem.UUCP (Mark Brader) (10/31/83)
Joe Steffen (ihu1f!steffen) asks about:
1A Enter ? for help.
vs. 1B Type ? for help.
and:
2A Type <TAB> to go the next field.
vs. 2B Type TAB to go the next field.
He prefers the second alternative in each case. I agree with 1B (some people
would read 1A to mean using the Enter key followed by the ? key), but for 2
I would like to suggest:
2C Use the TAB key to go to the next field.
This way, you won't get people typing the word TAB. And I have seen novices
make exactly that mistake.
Alternatives for Use would include Press and Depress. I don't like Depress
because it seems more suggestive of holding it down, like a shift key.
I think Use is obviously the best of these, in this context.
(I cringe when I see "`Control-C' means to (de)press the CTRL and C keys
simultaneously", making no distinction between the two kinds of action.)
These are my own opinions only.
Mark Brader, NTT Systems Inc., Torontodecot@cwruecmp.UUCP (Dave Decot) (11/01/83)
If possible, words like TAB and RETURN should be highlighted (inverse is best) to emphasize that they are one key, or say something like: Press the TAB key to move to the next field. Press ? for more info, or space bar to delete all your directories. Dave Decot decvax!cwruecmp!decot
decot@cwruecmp.UUCP (Dave Decot) (11/01/83)
If the user may press any key to continue, don't tell him that, just tell him to press RETURN or C or something. Then they won't be hitting SHIFT. Dave Decot decvax!cwruecmp!decot
decot@cwruecmp.UUCP (Dave Decot) (11/04/83)
A recent submission discussed the problem of describing how to enter (type,
use, ...) a control character. Although the following is a bit longer than
other ways to say it, it seems to avoid much ambiguity.
To type a Control-C, hold down the CTRL key while you press the C key.
Then release both keys. Control-C is sometimes indicated by ^C, or
sometimes CTRL-C or CNTL-C. Similarly, ^X means to hold down the CTRL key
and press X, etc.
Dave Decot
decvax!cwruecmp!decotmbr@fortune.UUCP (11/04/83)
As for explaining to the novice user how to use the control key, it would make sense to explain this key as being analogous in function to the shift key, with which all novices are familiar. E.G. - If one presses the key labeled "D" alone, the result is the character lower-case-d (i.e. d). In order to enter the character capital-d (i.e. D), one presses the key labeled "D" while holding down the key labeled "SHIFT". In much the same way the character control-d (a.k.a. ^D, CTRL/D, etc.) can be typed by pressing the key labeled "D" while holding down the key labeled "CTRL". ...!fortune!mbr