An operating system created series by Apple Inc. since 2002.
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0answers
80 views
Designing an OS X App with 3+ columns
I'm designing a Shoebox/Library style Mac app with multiple levels of drill down that may require upto 4 visible columns. Is it 'acceptable' from a Ux point of view to have so many columns visble at ...
0
votes
1answer
58 views
Why are Documents not on the Dock? [closed]
In Mac os x would it not make sense to allow not currently open documents to come onto the dock? Why is this not part of the UX?
4
votes
2answers
92 views
position-based application switching in traditional window managers
I have a related question on SU that is asking for any tools which apply this concept:
Suppose that I've got a perfectly reasonable set of two terminal windows, two web browsers, and one email ...
4
votes
4answers
189 views
Which button should get the focus at delete dialogs?
I thought that most destructive actions should be avoided from default actions. But when a delete dialog comes, I see that most Windows applications (even the OS), by default, set the focus at ...
6
votes
1answer
162 views
Dropdown issues on Mac
One of the websites that we've been working on has a dropdown with <select> having multiple <option>s. In our Windows PC, the dropdown show only a number of items while on the client's ...
3
votes
1answer
135 views
Different approaches to prompting Mac users about accepting an EULA
I’m a bit technical in my reasoning here but I hope that will be okay.
What other approaches are there for displaying the EULA? Are there any who actually offer a non-disruptive prompt? Is there even ...
6
votes
1answer
167 views
Alert window, navigating to the right button
Working on both Windows and OSX, I have some habits on both.
In alert dialogs, there is a huge usability variance between both operating systems.
In the latter, you can either tap enter and have the ...
10
votes
4answers
287 views
Forcing users to update software (or at least make them work not to)
I'm a mac user, and every so often I see this:
Which is great and all, but it often interrupts my workflow as the notification appears above all open windows and only disappears when selecting one ...
1
vote
1answer
168 views
Web-safe fonts: do Apple devices ship with Arial?
Currently my font stack is "HelveticaNeue-Light","Helvetica Neue Light","Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,"Lucida Grande",sans-serif. The issue I'm having is that some of my images/buttons with text ...
6
votes
2answers
309 views
What is the purpose behind mouse acceleration?
Windows XP enables it by default, I don't know about vista or 7, in Mac OS X you have to buy a shareware to remove both mouse acceleration AND accelerated scrolling.
Why are those things always ...
5
votes
4answers
1k views
Why doesn't Mac OSX have a Cut option?
I observed that MacOSX finder does not have a Cut option (or shortcut Command+X) to move the contents. Is there a reason for removing this option? Does it improve usability in any way?
7
votes
1answer
195 views
Applicability of Fitts law in expert user scenarios
Fitts law states that "the time required to rapidly move to a target area is a function of the distance to the target and the size of the target.".
Simply put, if user is about to click/tap/press a ...
7
votes
3answers
196 views
How would you solve the accidentally-launching problem of the Mac OS dock?
Every so often I accidentally click on an icon in my dock, when I meant to click on the icon next to it. The application chugs into action, slowing down my computer a bit, and I have to wait until ...
7
votes
1answer
135 views
How should I warn a user of a config problem in my software?
My Mac OS X software has complex configuration. The software does its best to auto-configure and to help the user through the process. However external components can change THEIR configuration, which ...
33
votes
9answers
3k views
What are the drawbacks of designing a Windows application to look like a Mac application?
I'm working with a company whose product is a Microsoft Windows application.
As the UI/UX designer (and as a Mac user) I want to redesign the application so it is more visually appealing.
Are there ...
6
votes
2answers
201 views
Where can I find guidelines on when to use the red octagon with exclamation mark icon in Mac OS?
This icon is shown under Mac OS when a disk is unmounted without being ejected first.
It is sometimes also used by other applications. Can someone point me to a place where the acceptable uses for ...
7
votes
3answers
369 views
How to improve discoverability of transient scrollbar?
Starting from Mac OS X Lion, scrollbars have been transient. That is, they disappear when your mouse stops moving. Some sites, like Facebook, even emulate this transient scrollbar for Windows users:
...
3
votes
4answers
494 views
How to create realistic mockups?
I need to create a realistic mock-up for an app. Are there mockup tools to create mockups that look like a final app?
(Preferably for Mac OS Cocoa Apps, on any OS: Linux, Windows or Mac)
If not, ...
4
votes
1answer
715 views
Studies showing significant usability differences between Windows and Mac OS X?
Everybody has their pet gripes about one or the other, but I'm curious if there is any actual science showing that "The Windows Way" or "The Mac Way" is significantly better for some task.
Just to be ...
2
votes
2answers
251 views
Is there any research to confirm whether “classic” scrolling or OS X Lion's scrolling style is “better”?
...or scrolling the content vs. scrolling the window (video for Apple's "natural scrolling")
I'm a happy Lion user now and (as many of us know) by default, the scrolling mechanism is reversed. The ...
1
vote
4answers
413 views
OS X: what menu bar to show when a modal dialog is shown
My application shows a small menu bar if no window is shown. Of course, when a window is shown, its menu bar is visible. When now showing a modal dialog on top of this window, what menu bar should be ...
3
votes
7answers
572 views
Menu bar for different major windows
Our application has different major windows which don't share a noticeable common menu item set. Hence the menu bar changes when switching between those windows. Unfortunately, I have not found any ...
7
votes
2answers
553 views
Max OS X Lion: Two Buttons “Highlighted” by Default—what?
I've noticed this in a lot of applications under Mac OS X Lion lately. For example:
Pressing return is equivalent to pressing the button with the blue background, not the highlight.
What's the ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
Differences between iOS GUI and Mac OS X GUI
I am trying to wrap my head around the design considerations one needs to take into consideration as one develops an application for both the desktop and iOS. What seems clear is that the design ...
2
votes
5answers
2k views
Best Mac OSX Interface Designer [closed]
I'm working on a Cocoa application for Mac OSX. I'm looking for the best interface design tools.
Currently, I use a combination of Photoshop and Interface Builder. Anybody have any secret weapons ...
4
votes
5answers
316 views
How would you display a key equivalent to the user?
One is allowed to assign key equivalents to controls like Push Buttons in Cocoa.
For example, one might assign Cmd-E to push button. Would you make any attempt to let the user know that pressing ...
7
votes
4answers
3k views
Innovative alternatives to the classic “tabbed” window
Has anyone come across any online content that jumps outside the box and re-thinks how we can organize multi-windowed content more effectively than using the classic tab bar along the top of the ...
3
votes
4answers
450 views
What are the benefits and drawbacks of dialog sheets as seen in Mac OS X?
Introduced with the original Mac OS X were dialog sheets:
As I understand (not being a Mac user) these sheets are modal, requiring user interaction in the current window, but not limiting the user ...
3
votes
2answers
94 views
How can I make a preference window that is good at tweaking theming settings?
I'm working on a file manager where the user can change text properties, the same way as in programming editors: font-family, font-size, antialiasing, background-color, foreground-color.
Currently I ...
10
votes
6answers
403 views
What to put in the About box?
I wonder what useful stuff one can put in an About box in a Mac OS X program.
Most basic the About box displays
Program icon
Program name
Version number
Copyright
More sophisticated ones ...
