Questions tagged [windows-os]
use this tag for questions related to Microsoft Operating System family.
159
questions
2
votes
1
answer
168
views
How should a minimize-to-tray application behave?
I am building an application that minimizes to tray on the close-button (cross upper right corner). I found two different behaviours for this kind of application now:
click on the tray icon to bring ...
- 143
0
votes
2
answers
354
views
How to tell Users that a Tooltip lies behind a Text/Textbox/Image, etc.?
In my UI, I have a normal text headline that covers a block of checkboxes. Without further information I'm scared of users not knowing what to do with the window. My idea is to put a tooltip in the ...
- 3
2
votes
1
answer
306
views
Redesigning workflow of bidding application to reduce cognitive load
I am currently working on a pet project to port and redesign a native Windows-based app onto the web. It acts as a booking aggregator, providing a platform for service operators to bid, share, and ...
- 692
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Menu with icons and checkable items
In a normal windows application, I've (context) menus. Many of the items have individual icons for better recognition. Now, some of the menu items are checkable. The "standard" way of showing the ...
- 275
3
votes
3
answers
202
views
When you design a web app, are there any considrations you take for safari in mac?
When you design a web app, Do you take into consideration the UI differences of OS such as mac environment?
Are there any parts from the HGI of the OS such controls location, terminology,dialog ...
- 51
1
vote
1
answer
243
views
Should an “Enable”/“Disable” menu item use a checkmark or change its text?
I’m working on a desktop application. Some of the menu items allow the user to enable or disable certain functionality in the program. There is some disagreement on how these menu items should work.
...
- 141
4
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Why disable the minimize button?
Is there any good UX justification for disabling the minimize button, but not the maximize or close buttons?
I notice that Eclipse (the IDE) has several dialogs that do this, and there are questions ...
- 168
4
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Windows desktop icon guidelines
Are there any modern guidelines for how icons should look in desktop Windows?
I'm particularly interested in toolbar icons right now, but I'm hoping for some general icon guidance.
The Windows ...
- 141
4
votes
3
answers
218
views
What's the best way to allow a user to revert an input field to a default state?
In a desktop application, when you have an input text box that will get the value from somewhere else and that it might get updated, what's the best way to allow the user to edit that field to a new ...
- 243
5
votes
1
answer
383
views
Selecting options and variants of these
I am trying to create a selection of scales for graphs (called "Maps" in our terminology). The scales have two aspects: there is a color key (what range of colors to use), and there is a step size (...
- 6,544
6
votes
2
answers
119
views
Should main drop-down menu always be titled File
First my question, and then the details below: Should the main drop-down menu in a windows application always be titled "File" or should it be titled something more appropriate to the options it ...
- 199
1
vote
1
answer
82
views
Show time left, warn before automatic hangup
I'm working on a Windows desktop application where the user deals with incoming calls by emergency devices. Because the inbound capacity is limited, the connections should be kept short, a time-out ...
- 141
8
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Is the Windows Title Bar off limits for customization?
With a recent Chrome update, I now have a switch person button next to the three standard Window Title Buttons that are used all the time:
Minimize Window
Restore Window
Close Window
When Chrome is ...
- 865
1
vote
1
answer
706
views
Where to place the add and remove buttons for a list box?
In a Windows Form, where should the Add / Remove buttons go when you have a header record with single attribute children, as below? Should the "Child Items" label be above the list box?
Update:
...
- 113
2
votes
1
answer
606
views
Presenting a list of sequential actions in a Windows application
I'm programming a small PC app which is mainly used to perform a set of sequential, step-by-step actions, and I wonder what would be a "standard" way to design its UI, so it would follow ...
- 21
28
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Why is low contrast between active and inactive window title bars considered a good thing?
It seems like recently, there is a movement toward applications forcing a color scheme on the user as well as using custom-drawn windowing elements, particularly title bars, with very low contrast ...
- 652
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votes
1
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125
views
Do single items on the Windows Start Menu need a folder?
My team is creating an application that has a single entry point. There will be a single entry point, meaning only one item on the Windows 7 start menu/Windows 8 start screen. Other than "that's how ...
10
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Mouse wheel interaction with nested scrollbars
Nested scrollbars (a scrollable area within another scrollable area) present some unfortunate difficulties, mainly when scrolling trough them with the mouse wheel.
Whether such scrollbars are a good ...
- 391
1
vote
1
answer
614
views
Alternatives for multiple popup dialogs that look the same and are frequently used
I am trying to improve the interface of a tool.
Currently, we have 4 popup dialogs which all look the same and have the same functionality. They consist of a list and add/remove buttons and in each ...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
619
views
Segmented buttons in Windows desktop applications?
Is there an equivalent to the OS X segmented Buttons on Windows 7 / Windows 8 Desktop (not Metro) and if so, what does it look like?
Example in OS X (Settings, Listening Key, Commands):
68
votes
11
answers
24k
views
Why did Microsoft choose the word "Recycle Bin"?
If you delete something in Windows OS, it will go to Recycle bin. But if you think about it nothing recycles in it right?
Say, you delete a virus infected file and again restore it from recycle bin ...
26
votes
5
answers
5k
views
Why do scrollbars revert to original scroll distance when mouse is dragged sideways too far?
When dragging the scrollbar using the mouse, the contents of the scrollpane move up and down as the bar moves with the mouse. But if you keep the mouse button held down, and move the pointer sideways ...
- 395
7
votes
4
answers
7k
views
What's the point of closing windows by double-clicking their top-left?
In Windows, you can double-click the top-left of a window to close it.
But why?
It's not intuitive. At all.
What sort of advantage is there by using this kind of behaviour for closing windows? I ...
- 171
13
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Why does the close (cross) button in Windows gets special attention?
In Windows's window even if you don't hover on the close (cross) button it always stays red. But the minimize or restore button is transparent, if you hover then it will become blue.
So why does this ...
2
votes
1
answer
295
views
Buttons in the "tab area" of a page control
Is it OK to put buttons (or a toolbar) in the "tab area" of a page control?
In the example above, the number of tabs is fixed.
The rationale behind this is to "save space".
However.
It "feels" ...
- 12.6k
3
votes
2
answers
823
views
"Revert to Default" UI element
In the settings dialog of our Windows desktop application, the user can type or select a certain (template) file.
If nothing is specified, the application falls back to the default. This is indicated ...
- 133
0
votes
1
answer
118
views
Smoothly transitioning from mouse drag to text entry
I have an application I'm working on where a portion of the interface is very mouse-centric. You drag the mouse to create/manipulate regions, then assign properties to those regions. Below is an ...
- 101
1
vote
2
answers
91
views
Highlighting a property in combobox
I am currently doing an application with a combobox, like this:
Obviously the visuals can be better, but leaving that aside: How can I highlight a boolean property of a particular element? A bullet? ...
- 113
4
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How does Windows 7 Aero taskbar determine button hover-state background colour [closed]
This has intrigued me for quite some time.
Does anyone know the algorithm Windows 7 Aero uses to determine the colour to use as the mouse-tracking hover highlight on taskbar buttons for currently-...
- 141
1
vote
2
answers
110
views
Modification by value or percentage
Each train type on each section of track has a specific running time, set by Those Who Know.
My users need the option of modifying the value of that setting (train journey time in minutes) by either
...
- 193
0
votes
1
answer
182
views
What is the list view in Windows Explorer called?
In Windows Explorer, the Details view looks like this:
As you can see, there is a list view in which the items can be sorted by one of many attributes. I would like to know what this sort of list ...
- 103
14
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Why is it an industry-standard to have a window automatically grab focus and how do we change it? (in Windows at least)
Why is it an industry-standard to have a windows automatically grab focus?
From a usability point of view, why is it considered "good practice" for a desktop application to grab (more like hijack) ...
- 251
0
votes
5
answers
721
views
Correct use of Ribbons in Windows program
I need some advice on the correct use of Ribbons in desktop applications. The program I'm working on is for a clinic, I have done a simple mockup below to make it easier to visualize.
My client wants ...
- 11
6
votes
6
answers
5k
views
Why is the Windows taskbar default at the bottom?
In Windows operating systems the taskbars default position is at the bottom. Why is that so? Especially it is strange to me because all windows application have their main menu bar at the top. To me ...
- 163
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votes
1
answer
6k
views
How do I indicate that fields are mandatory in Windows Desktop UI?
I need a method of indicating that certain fields are required within my forms on a Windows Desktop UI.
I have read and searched the Windows Design Guidelines, but can not find a standard that ...
- 6,143
2
votes
1
answer
375
views
How might Windows show a loading status instead of just freezing?
Every now and then, you'll have a bunch of desktop applications open in Windows. Let's say you have a word processor, a web browser, a music player, and video game open simultaneously. All of these ...
- 349
3
votes
0
answers
174
views
User Interface Changes for Mac when Porting Windows Application [duplicate]
I have an existing windows application, for which I have decided to create a Mac version. The problem is that the current UI involves a lot of buttons, tabbed panels, multiple windows etc.
This UI ...
- 71
4
votes
6
answers
242
views
User Interface Changes for Mac when Porting Windows Application
I have an existing windows application, for which I have decided to create a Mac version. The problem is that the current UI involves a lot of buttons, tabbed panels, multiple windows etc.
This UI ...
- 71
7
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Better way to provide software downloads for an exe application
We plan to release an .exe file to public. The options would be to download the .exe file from the websites direct server link, so that we can provide direct download support with respective to ...
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
Prevent Active Directory password expiration when user never logs in
Let's assume the following in a hospital:
Each nurse has her own Active Directory user, with a password.
The password expires automatically 90 days after the password was set.
A nurse uses her own ...
- 111
4
votes
3
answers
274
views
Checkboxes vs Selection in dialog
In my application a user can search for messages in a database. Users may select mailboxes and folders where the search will be performed. These folders are represented as a tree with checkboxes. But ...
- 145
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Is the indeterminate checkbox state a Microsoft UI pattern only?
A quick look through online search results show that the indeterminate checkbox state does not seem to be a very common UI interaction, yet Microsoft has persistently stuck with it and are probably ...
- 26.7k
1
vote
2
answers
334
views
Studies on the impact of switching operating systems in corporate organizations
Browsing through a previous question on the usability between Windows and Mac OS, I thought an interesting question would be to see if there were any studies done on the impact of changing operation ...
- 26.7k
13
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Looking for independent usability study of the Microsoft Fluent UI
I have been trying to gather objective feedback/response on the design of the Fluent UI ('Ribbon') interface. Apart from one study by Forrester which was commissioned by Microsoft anyway, and various ...
- 26.7k
-6
votes
2
answers
148
views
What's the best program (that you have used) to compile a professional windows help file (CHM)? [closed]
I have to make a help documentation in windows help file format. The amount of time I have got for this is ~ 5 hours and I have got about 50 pages (slides) that need to be added to this document.
So ...
- 105
2
votes
1
answer
228
views
How to display NumPad keys to user
We are trying to map how a user will see key presses for custom hotkeys. However, there is some debate which I cannot find a standard for:
How to display the number pad keys:
num1, num2, numPLUS, ...
- 143
5
votes
3
answers
2k
views
When is the best time to deploy operating system updates?
Related to this question, it was proposed in the comments that it frustrates the user even more when when they go to shutdown their workstation and it takes forever to install updates. However, it's a ...
- 271
2
votes
1
answer
525
views
What is an effective way to present System Update Progress to a user that also lowers frustration?
I am working on an app that starts installing any pending updates when a user logs off the (Windows) workstation. The finished app will look like this (minus 'button1'):
Our branding is in the ...
- 271
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Keyboard navigation of editable fields skipping other controls
I've been browsing StackExchange, the MS UX guidelines, etc and have yet to find an answer, or even a suggestion about this.
In a Windows environment, Tab usually moves focus from control to control....
- 133
2
votes
0
answers
2k
views
Why does scrolling when dragging an element scroll faster on mouse wiggle? [closed]
I don't know about other operating systems, but this is very prolific in Windows.
Let's say you have a scrollable container that items can be dragged onto. You want to drag an item onto the part of ...
- 2,595