Questions tagged [desktop-application]
program installed on user's machine as opposed to a program that runs remotely and is accessed via an internet browser.
365
questions
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Is there an Interface Hall of Shame and Fame for web design?
There's the Interface Hall of Shame and also the Interface Hall of Fame for desktop UI design. The company that created the site doesn't exist since quite a time. Their site has been archived by ...
0
votes
0
answers
13
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Show Help in browser or built-in viewer - desktop application
I'm doing UX on a seasoned Java-desktop application (swing) and we have finaly run-out of tolerance with the JavaHelp feature. We are using it today to display the manual inside the desktop ...
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2
votes
2
answers
109
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How can I make my website more "self explanatory"
I built the following website MyChessNotebook some months ago. The purpose is simple: it is a text editor where a user can insert some pictures of chessboards easily.
I use it and find it super easy ...
3
votes
2
answers
152
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Is there a best practice with nav links going to same page as link in dropdown?
I am doing an audit of a website and there are areas where the label in the navigation goes to the same page as a the link in it's dropdown like the "Banking" going to same page as "...
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2
votes
1
answer
105
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Are extra close buttons still necessary for desktop applications?
Many desktop applications provide extra close buttons, usually in the bottom right corner of windows or panels. I understand showing extra cancel and stop buttons, but not close.
In many cases, there ...
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1
vote
1
answer
17
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Is "Assistance Order" acceptable terminology in the context of a furniture business app?
The software I work on is used in furniture designing, manufacturing and selling. It is used by designers, factories and stores. We are building a feature where i.e.:
A store received a broken piece ...
0
votes
1
answer
81
views
A design to show the main items and related items of main
At present, my project display the main and related items separately in multiple interfaces, and use the combobox in the related item interface to filter the sub items of the main.
However, such an ...
1
vote
1
answer
283
views
Font size for enterprise applications
Are there rules about what standard font size to use for enterprise applications? While websites use 16 pixels as the most readable for the user, many desktop applications use 12 to 14 pixels. What ...
- 247
2
votes
2
answers
73
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Does it make sense to use a platform-agnostic HIG for desktop applcations?
I'm developing a stand-alone, cross-platform desktop app for Windows, Mac, and GNU/Linux. I've read these ([1], [2]) questions and concluded that I'll have to cherry pick guidelines from all three ...
- 121
0
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2
answers
66
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Combining a variable size scrollable list, a fixed size scrollable form and a small fixed size non-scrollable form
I'm trying to design a desktop app and I have an Entity that has three "sections" for its settings/parameters:
a short section of 5 fields (text fields, checkboxes...) - probably doesn't ...
1
vote
2
answers
121
views
Good way to implement secret startup options in a desktop application
I write a Windows application that needs to have some "secret" functionality. For example, the application disables certain parts of the UI if the user is running in a certain environment. ...
- 561
0
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1
answer
395
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Period in tooltips?
Should tooltips in a desktop application end with a period? Is proper English required in this case?
Looking forward to any feedback or examples on this.
Thank you!
- 149
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0
answers
139
views
Examples for a modern home screen in a Windows desktop application?
I have a 15 year old Windows desktop application, and I'd like to refresh the look of it to be more modern, in line with current trends in UI design.
The main functions are launched from a home screen ...
- 101
0
votes
4
answers
153
views
Use a drop down list for activating a service
Currently I'm designing the behaviour of a service into a SaaS; this service force the upgrade of the apps built with the SaaS platform
I have a drop-down list with existing versions (1.0 - 1.1 - 1.2) ...
0
votes
1
answer
216
views
Why do desktop apps not use pointer cursor [duplicate]
I was wondering if there is a reason why most desktop applications don't user a pointer cursor (pointing hand, see below) to show that a button or element is clickable, but always show the default ...
- 386
1
vote
1
answer
49
views
Wizards size consistency across application
Is there a general guidline how to solve a consistency of Wizard forms accross a desktop application? I am especialy interrested in to the size of windows. Should be all the wizards of same size? Is ...
- 11
2
votes
1
answer
39
views
Should I resize a window on language change
In my desktop I have a settings dialog that after I change the app language there's a label text gets too big for its space. I want to know if it is good practice to resize the window after a language ...
- 145
1
vote
1
answer
67
views
Scroll time on SaaS
As is the case with most SaaS, there is sometimes simply too much data to fit on one section of a page. On the desktop app, we use a standard table view of data. On the mobile app, we use cards in ...
- 25
2
votes
2
answers
98
views
At which point should a partial translation of the UI of a desktop software become available as an option?
I'm creating an open source software for which the user interface is translated to various languages by contributors (about 30 languages at the moment). The translation platform is online and the ...
- 185
2
votes
1
answer
324
views
Should I display empty fields in read only display?
I have a desktop application which has many editable fields, about 50 fields grouped into about 6 sections.
When editing, the field's text box will show, then once the user clicks save, the data will ...
- 23
0
votes
1
answer
48
views
What's the reference screen resolutions to start preparing mockups for desktop? [duplicate]
I need to justify my choice of screen resolutions for a PWA desktop app that runs to run on old and newest PCs. So far mockups are preapred for 1440? I don't have specific information which lead to ...
2
votes
1
answer
72
views
Is filling the center-area of a GUI with several forms a good practice?
Center-area concept:
For a desktop application, we commonly find a similar structure for the GUI:
Top menu / Ribbon
Dockables left and right to explore the content and show properties.
Center-area ...
- 143
1
vote
1
answer
61
views
Pattern for infrequently used UI in desktop application
I have a desktop application where the user will paste some text into a textbox located within the tab that is initially displayed to the user.
The CONVERT button will become enabled when text is ...
- 113
1
vote
1
answer
58
views
Desktop application that uses both a Ribbon and a Menu?
I know the Ribbon was intended to replace the conventional menu, but are there any examples of desktop applications which attempted to use both? If so, how was the end result? Was it a nightmare? Did ...
- 111
2
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2
answers
59
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In a Desktop application, should the recent file list placed directly in the file menu
A desktop tool mostly offers recent files. I am used to press Alt+F and then 1 to open the first recent files. It seems that I learned it from Notepad++. I thought it was a "platform convention&...
- 121
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1
answer
191
views
What is the best ease curve and speed for color transitions?
I am creating a desktop app, and I'm currently implementing animations.
I understand from Material Design Guidelines that I should set the speed for transitions for desktop apps at about 100-250 ms to ...
- 101
3
votes
2
answers
227
views
Context menu being chopped off from main screen - alternative design strategies?
I am not sure if many people have experienced this before, but on desktop applications where the context menu (i.e. pop-up menu triggered by a right-click mouse selection) is used for items that is in ...
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82
views
When is it right to use native menus for desktop apps?
I am building a video chat desktop app, and it has a window to emulate a custom menu. I have seen many desktop apps that use native menus, and it is pretty common. Other desktop apps use custom menus, ...
0
votes
2
answers
63
views
Control for adjusting ratio between quantities
I am looking for a ui control type which allows adjusting the ratios between at least 3 different scalar quantities.
For example, adjusting the composition of a chemical solution, such that a user can ...
- 1,466
2
votes
1
answer
167
views
Is it ok for a desktop app to steal the focus when the app's window is hovered?
We are working on an app that is meant to be on one side of the screen, it is a desktop app for video calls. Right now if you hover the app's window it steals the focus so the user can start typing to ...
4
votes
2
answers
306
views
What's the name of this UI component?
I am looking for the general name of the component that a lot of IDEs use. Examples:
Goto Anything in Sublime
Quick Open in Visual Studio Code
Omnibar in Blueprintjs
It is usually opened with CTRL+P ...
- 2,443
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4
answers
489
views
What Micro Interaction to use When Hovering Over a Button?
👋
We are trying to learn/understand UX from first principals and build the most intuitive UI.
We are creating buttons in an App and want to know what the ideal micro interaction is when hovering ...
- 141
0
votes
1
answer
340
views
Icon on a Call to Action Button - Best results
I'm wondering if there are some icons better than others for the main action button on a homepage's hero banner.
In some case it would depend on the context and what the button is requiring the user ...
- 832
3
votes
2
answers
178
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Implementing an insert-update-delete grid in a web application
I'm in the process of rewriting an old desktop application that's used for warehouse management and retail. The warehouse window is meant for importing, returning and modifying imported items. So it's ...
0
votes
3
answers
276
views
tab order of help button in dialogs
When I place the help button in dialogs like here:
What tab order should I use? It's obvious that the content panel uses tabindex values that correspond to the reading order which is supported by the ...
- 141
3
votes
2
answers
144
views
Filtering options for a combobox
I currently have a log-on dialogue box which I present to users when they wish to log onto a target system. As I have quite a number of possible target systems, I offer them a combobox in which they ...
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5
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1k
views
Placement of Help button: left or right to OK/Cancel
I'm adding help to a Windows desktop application that is being in use since the Windows XP era. All the modal dialogs display the typical OK/Cancel button set placed at the bottom right as shown in ...
- 141
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3
answers
161
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Gray-out conundrum
As we're approaching the release date for v2.5.0 of Rubberduck (an open-source VBIDE add-in), we're facing a bit of a dilemma regarding a specific type of tree nodes in one of our toolwindows:
The ...
- 245
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3
answers
2k
views
What is the best way to notify a user that updates are available in a desktop application?
I have a Windows desktop application that is used as the front-end for a webservice. This application has a database that could get updated from time to time, but it would also work with an old ...
- 141
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1
answer
482
views
About Commanding in UWP apps. What commanding approach is best? office like?, UWP? or classic win32?
I'm writing an app with platform UWP-Windows 10-1903(Universal Windows), for making electric circuits, designs and simulations. User makes a design on screen with resistors, generators, etc, and run ...
103
votes
11
answers
32k
views
Are Scroll Bars Dead?
I recently heard a designer say something to the effect that modern web designs don't use visual scrollbars - or at least they're only visible when scrolling. I'm a front-end developer and hadn't ...
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votes
5
answers
3k
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Should a Save button be disabled if there have been no changes made?
I have a desktop application, and in this application, there is a non-modal dialog where a user can make changes to something. The dialog has a Close button and a Save button. The Save button does not ...
- 31
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vote
2
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939
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when to use "wait" and when "busy" mouse cursor
I am developing a desktop application with Qt framework. When there is a task running which causes the UI to be blocked for a while, I would like to use a mouse cursor indicating that the user should ...
26
votes
12
answers
6k
views
Users forgetting to regenerate PDF before sending it
My company is developing an ERP software for small businesses and we're encountering a recurrent problem.
In the "Invoices" part of the app, there's a "View/Print" button that exports the invoice to ...
- 361
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2
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686
views
"Undo Changes" & "Refresh"
In a desktop application, where users are pulling and sometimes updating values on a "datagridview" (DGV) that is data-bound to a database, how should a designer distinguish between "undo changes" and ...
- 3
2
votes
2
answers
282
views
Combined Tables View
I have 4 different types of external logging data that can be opened in my desktop application. They are displayed as tables. Each of these have a few columns in common (e.g. timestamp), but most of ...
- 121
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3
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453
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Where should I place my inline data table buttons?
I'm building a desktop application with the intent for my users to perform action items on remote devices (can't say due to company IP). Users will also check the status of these devices, pre and post ...
- 1
2
votes
2
answers
135
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Groups vs notebooks
I'm working on a note taking app. One of the feature is that you can group the notes in a folder like manner in which one can create. subgroups inside groups and more subgroups and put notes/notebooks ...
- 23
1
vote
1
answer
87
views
What design pattern should I use to migrate windows lists with buttons to web?
I have a Windows application that I need to migrate to web. This application has many forms that follow the same pattern: (1) a grid on the left with columns and rows than can be selected, and (2) ...
- 123
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1
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1k
views
Make desktop application support the minimum resolution
Windows UX Checklist states that a desktop application should:
Support the minimum Windows effective resolution of 800x600 pixels.
For critical user interfaces (UIs) that must work in safe mode,
...
- 113