bhyde@inmet.UUCP (09/25/86)
It is amazing to me the fuzzyness of terms in this user interface
problem. One of the few books in this area is "The Elements of
Friendly Software Design" I'm sad that it and the Mac User Interface
Guidelines are the only place I can send a person to read about
what these arguements are trying to grapple with. I'm particularly
sad because that book suffers from the pulp computer publishing
style of the time it was written.
If other people have things that they recomend one read I'd be
pleased to hear about them. I, for example, don't think I've
yet seen a good discussion about why Scribe is such a good
peice of user interface design.
I was surprised that Larry's recent note didn't mention what I
consider the some of the principle feature of a program with Modes.
It mentions the first one, and not the second or third one.
(1) A very substantial indication of current mode is
always apparent.
-> Window highlighting.
-> Mouse cursor shape, tool pallet highlighting.
-> Overlayed dialog window.
-> Continous action on the part of the user, i.e.
dragging or shift key depressed.
(2) Any Mode can be escaped quickly WITH NO SIDE EFFECTS!
-> Save dialog upon quit (never default to save)
-> Cancel buttons in all dialogs.
(3) The user can not damage his work when he misunderstands
the current mode.
-> Undo.
-> Any document state is reachable from any other state.
-> Changes to format and layout do not damage content.