A menu is a list of commands presented to an operator by a computer system
5
votes
3answers
428 views
What is this menu style called?
At work the other day, someone asked if there was a word for the style of menu that the latest versions Firefox and Microsoft Office now use; a single top level menu item which expands to a more ...
3
votes
7answers
570 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 ...
0
votes
3answers
126 views
How should I call a menu that regroups everything
On my application, I need a simple menu with just three items: "Options", "Help" and "About". The app has a custom interface (it doesn't have a standard menu) and to keep it clean and simple, I want ...
5
votes
3answers
294 views
Menu organization : conventional or domain-specific?
I'm building a desktop application that is a tool to mount some very domain-specific graphic structures that in the tool's context are called "sequences" (it's not important here I guess).
To help ...
8
votes
2answers
1k views
Fixing UI Antipattern “multiple menu levels”
My brain seems to be pre-programmed to make administrative UI's look like the mockups below.
In the mockups I have 3 levels of navigation, with on the form another set of buttons for the form ...
14
votes
6answers
513 views
What is more pleasing to the eye fade in or suddently appear
I have a pop up menu. What is said to be easier on the users' eyes? Should I just have it appear immediately using visibility = true or should I have it fade in using opacity animation?
3
votes
2answers
616 views
tab menu + side panel - how to organize menu and “context menu”
I have a dashboard, with tab menu (tabs over the content) and a side panel with a vertical menu.
My question is. i would like to make one menu (tab or side panel) as first level menu and the other ...
3
votes
1answer
144 views
Tags interface for an desktop accounting application?
The ancient question of tags vs categories will probably never grow old. Of course, in its general form the answer is "it depends". So here's a specific case:
The application is an established ...
2
votes
3answers
259 views
In a desktop application, what are best practise methods to provide a menu of functions
I have a .NET Winforms application that hosts controls to provide different areas of functionality.
My normal method in providing a menu to switch between these controls has been a TreeView or a List ...
1
vote
3answers
232 views
What does the user want to do to see a menu? Press a button? Hover?
EDIT: Thank you everybody for your answers and opinions. Just what I needed and was looking for. I wish I could accept every answer.
I have a huge, unwieldy page that's just a deep, wide table. User ...
18
votes
6answers
1k views
Why is there a convention on the web for dropdown menus on hover instead of on click?
This is something I've always wondered. On all major operating systems, application menus (File/Edit/View etc) only appear on click. However, nearly every web site that uses a drop-down menu ...
5
votes
6answers
557 views
Drop-down field with only one value
If there's a form that requires a user to select, let's say, one of the email addresses he/she has on file in his account, would it be bad practice to make that menu item a drop-down regardless of how ...
9
votes
3answers
2k views
Fixed-position header and menu on a web page — is that okay?
A client of mine is insisting on two things for a website I am designing:
That every single link is shown in the header – about 10 links or so with no sub-categories. ie. no drop-downs, rollovers, ...
5
votes
2answers
404 views
When are drop-down menus really necessary?
I always find myself with customers who want drop-down menus because 'they are used to them'. So I started to wonder: When are drop-down menus actually necessary?
4
votes
2answers
172 views
the benefit of a separate preferences application
The best example of this is on the iOS platform (although you can see it in Mac OS X and Windows to some extent too).
Why does Apple allow (encourage even) apps to have their preferences in the ...
3
votes
2answers
168 views
Placement additional menu on video website; top, bottom or something else
A friend of mine is building a video website where you can watch user submitted videos. Those videos are of individuals speaking their dream in the camera. The focus is on letting people watch those ...
8
votes
5answers
426 views
Renaming a file you are currently working in, why is this still not done?
We've all experienced this: You open a new document inside an application such as Word, Excel, Textmate, or others. You work on it for a while and save it. Then you wish you could rename it. What ...
1
vote
2answers
117 views
Designing a website in Phases - allowing for future content
I am in the process of designing a website which will be produced in at least 2 phases. The first release will include the majority of the site sections but in phase 2 we will be producing additional ...
4
votes
2answers
386 views
Suggestions for menu mockup with “user options”
I currently have the following mockup for a menu of a web application.
I like the left hand side with the main menus and their sub fly out menus. What I'm not sure about is the right hand side. I'd ...
13
votes
5answers
1k views
How to represent level of difficulty while selecting a game?
I am working on a menu to select from various (3) game variants shown from top to bottom, each variant offering different difficulty levels.
The difficulty will be selected by swiping (touch input ...
10
votes
2answers
238 views
Are there any studies that show the quickest mental processing for capitalization of header menu items for a website.
In header menus on websites, is it best practice to capitalize header items?
Home | Members | About Us | Contact Us
To Captitalize the first letter
Home | Members | About us | Contact us
Or to ...
8
votes
4answers
552 views
What is a good replacement for the menu bar in a Windows app?
The old Windows menu bar (File, Edit, View, etc. ) is tried and true, but seems to be disappearing from popular usage. I have a new desktop/client application that I am developing and I would like to ...
5
votes
5answers
383 views
Which is better - a summarized menu or a detailed menu?
I am redesigning a navigation menu for a web-based application. The current menu is a list of tasks, grouped by service. The list is growing steadily as we are adding new functionalities and now the ...
1
vote
2answers
606 views
Best way to handle primary/secondary navigation
I'm working on a site right now where I need to handle both primary and secondary navigation. Unfortunately, in this case the secondary navigation is more important than the primary...
Primary ...
13
votes
2answers
1k views
Custom right click context menu on a web site
Are right click context menus that override the browsers context menu considered a good usability practice?
If so, are there accessibility concerns?
If so, are there any guidelines or best ...
5
votes
2answers
295 views
Best way to show screens to user on application
I'm developing a Winforms application which has been running for years with an explorer view (TreeView left, screen right). I means that:
All the screens have an hierarchy organization
All the nodes ...
8
votes
1answer
345 views
Where should the “preferences” item go in a desktop application?
I find that the "preferences" menu item is always in a different place, and often under an arbitrary name which always makes it a pain to locate unless you're already familiar with the software.
I ...
8
votes
6answers
1k views
2 row navigation vs. dropdowns
I've seen two different types of navigation bars when a site requires nested navigation, one where hovering over a link drops down an additional menu, and one where a second horizontal bar is ...
