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193
Yes, people need multiple windows.
For example, a web developer will be looking at 2 windows all the time - a text editor and a browser.
Another more general example, people like to chat with friends using something like AIM or Skype or even facebook, all while watching videos on youtube. That would require 2 browser windows opened simultaneously.
This ...
103
There is an old article I got from the ACM library on Human-Computer-Interaction that provides some useful feedback.
(The ACM library is not very intuitive, but Microsoft have a PDF version of it)
An initial study attempted to demonstrate that users are significantly more productive and more satisfied when carrying out complex, multiple window tasks ...
64
I've always viewed it as a matter of "state" tracking. When I use a computer, I am doing a task, not using a program. This task may be something as simple as check email, and only requires one window open. Or it could be complex, such as design a section of a code project.
In the more complicated case, the task is independent of any individual program. I ...
33
I work in a video game studio. Everyone, from programmers to artists, uses two to three screens with multiple applications and/or windows:
programmers have a window with the source code, a window with the debugging information (registers, stack trace, debugging messages) and a window with the game running.
level designers have a window with the assets ...
31
Yes, people do really want to look at multiple windows/monitors/screens at once. For various reasons.
Working on a screen while monitoring something else,
security personnel monitoring multiple devices/networks/places,
stock trading,
flying an airplane (I guess a pilot needs the information available always, not through clicking and restoring ...
19
I strongly believe that the user should know all of the charges. I think you should give the user a final calculated value and not go into much detail about the travel charge. In other words, say that there is a travel charge, show the amount and end it there. Additionally, the users usually aren't interested about charges unrelated to them, so also avoid ...
10
Usually justifications for having hidden content come from a misplaced desire to reduce scrolling or to (rightly) let the user see all of the questions without getting distracted by the answer text.
There is a better way to do this: a list of questions at the top with anchor links within the page to the question and answer.
download bmml source ...
9
For content consumption, it may not be that important since the user is going to be focused on the content they are consuming. This is why such an interface works well on content consumption devices like tablets. For actually getting work done however, it is frequently critical to have multiple windows open in parallel. Looking at my desktop right now, I ...
7
Combining the two fields into one is confusing. For instance, it's not clear from the image you included what the button does and what I'm supposed to enter in the field. From your explanation it's clear that you want to allow both options. In these cases, the best way to do that is to actually show the user the two different options.
If space is a concern ...
7
As others said, you should look into generating HTML files that you ship with your product for help. One of our products (used in an environment without internet access) has been doing this for years and many users prefer it to the PDFs we also ship because the navigation is easier, the content lays itself out to fit the browser window, and the chunk size ...
7
I would hope that it is not controversial to say that multiple on-screen windows are extremely important or even essential for many computer tasks. For web-browsing tasks as well, especially with how many tasks can now be performed via a web browser, there are certainly many cases where seeing multiple browser windows at once is important to the user.
But ...
7
I am always amazed at people who think their way of using a computer is the only way there is. Having several windows side by side can be useful and productive. And in some user cases, it's not only "nice", it's vital.
proofreading a translation: Source on one side, translation on the other. Working with one window at a time is unworkable.
Programming: ...
7
You are facing a problem that Google has already solved and extensively tested, so copy them. In essence it is:
Use a query language that is appropriate for your audience - Lucene is a decent choice for this. Query languages are faster for advanced users to use, and is what most search engines allow.
Offer an "Advanced search" link/tab/button that shows ...
6
Keep it vague. Say something like "travel charges may apply to extended locations, contact us for details." This way, if you do live one street out of bounds, the business owner has the option to waive the fee, negotiate it, etc. Who knows, maybe it's a big job that he is charging a lot for anyway and decides that he would rather take the job and forget ...
6
People don't read. The best help is no help. Of course to do that, you need to put a ton of time and work into the UX.
So, assuming you do need help, I'd suggest the best would be context sensitive help that can link to your web site with the latest up-to-date help information. You'd publish help as HTML, saving you from proprietary CHM production ...
6
IMO this screen is problematic because:
It's deterring for the user, as every single option appears non trivial (since it requires an explanation).
Being the heaviest and most colorful element, makes it be the center of attention instead of the supportive role it should have.
So much repetition usually implies a more "global" approach has to be used.
...
5
The conventional placement of a software version number is in the About message box. You reach it through the menu Help > About and have a window that can look very different between applications, but here is one example:
5
What is the context in which the version number is important?
I have only looked for the version number when I'm troubleshooting or updating the software. Under that circumstance, the version number should be incredibly easy to find or it'll compound my effort in trying to complete an inherently frustrating task.
Having said that, the version number in ...
5
Even if a case could be made that people only use one window at a time, they do switch windows, and one of the quickest/easiest ways to switch windows (or modes) is to click on another window, which is only possible if the other window is (at least partially) visible. The overlapping-mouse-selectable-windows model is so useful, versatile and easy to learn ...
5
Simply put, the human brain is more effective when it can visualise (in spacial reference terms) the presence of different states while working.
This does not mean that the user will be physically looking at both states simultaneously, but needs to be aware of them.
The question is, where to draw the line of what a "state" is defined as. Can "state" be ...
5
Whenever you show people some new information, you have to think about what you are trying to achieve and what that user will do with the information. Only show them if they are relevant to an action that a user may take, or if you have some evidence that it will positively affect user behaviour more than it will distract.
In the case of page views, there ...
5
You can categorize this under "menu bloat" ;)
Help is an expected menu entry and rather than adding another menu (or using the application's menu, as they should) a lot of apps have over-used this position. In their defense, it's a menu users turn to when they have questions. I assume IA's are simply trying to capture people browsing for app information.
...
4
It looks as if you have the building name information and the square footage information displayed in the same column with text-align right, why is that?
I would much rather see three separated columns with all text-align left(possibly keeping square footage aligned right). This way it would be much easier to distinguish building name from square footage. ...
4
Personally I find a stacked bar chart confusing to read; I think part of the problem is that you're trying to display the results of two variables.
To solve this:
You could produce a separate chart for each rank.
You could produce a three dimensional bar chart, with (question /ranking on
the planar axes and number of respondent on the y axis)
You could ...
4
Just break down the two terms to see the difference and, consequently, the relationship.
Note from @PhilipW's link in the comments:
Mental models are representations in the mind of real or imaginary situations.
From A Gentle Introduction to Mental Models (Phil Johnson-Laird and Ruth Byrne, May 2000)
In the context of your question, a mental model is ...
4
I agree with all of Dan's suggestions. Making the icons smaller and less prominent will not diminish what you're trying to achieve.
Here's an example with 50% reduction in size and 30% reduction in opacity.
Another idea is to use the help icon also as a bullet, so it becomes a part of the label. This reduces the functional ambiguity of the icon. (I ...
3
When you tested this, how was the question phrased?
Was it:
"Can you complete this form? Which one did you like better?"
Or was it:
"Which method of invoking tool tip do you like better?"
If it is the latter, then you may have inadvertently influenced the outcome in favor of clicking the "i", because the question itself explains to the user what ...
3
The fundamental question to answer is "what is the rank of choices?" The secondary question is "how were these ranked?". And it sounds like your primary task is to show meaningful information, while and your secondary task is to provide context with data.
To answer the first question, you need to actually rank the results; that is implied in the title ...
3
How about calculating the travel charge as a linear function of the distance (or, even better, estimated driving distance) instead of as an 'unfair' step function? I.e. charge customers $45 per mile for every mile, or fraction thereof, over 1 mile (or whatever) from the 'work center point'.
Example: if a potential customer requests a quote for service, your ...
3
I'm assuming a user of the system can pick one of three paths:
Start from the people and for each person see which actions are available on which account.
Start from the accounts, looking/setting who has what access to it.
Start from actions and see on what accounts they are available and who can perform them - this seems a bit less likely, but I might be ...
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