universal GUI

[John R. Brauer]

Message: 1
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 09:47:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jan Schenkel <janschenkel at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Universal GUI
To: use-revolution at lists.runrev.com
Reply-To: use-revolution at lists.runrev.com

--- Dan Shafer <dan at shafermedia.com> wrote:
> [snip]
>
> Alternative design: Apple's designers should not
> disable the checkbox;
> rather they should hide the option until and unless
> the user makes a
> selection from the popup menu that should enable the
> user to change the
> checkbox setting. Then and only then the checkbox
> should appear. This
> is part of another key UI design concept:
> progressive discovery. Only
> show the user as much of the UI as is needed to
> accomplish the
> immediate objective. Several Claris products 15
> years ago, for which
> the UI was designed by one world-class designer,
> demonstrated this
> brilliantly. Why should I even have to look at the
> checkbox and have it
> clutter my use of the program if it's not relevant
> to my current
> situation? No value. No reason for it to be there.

I think it makes sense to leave it there disabled. If it is gone, then 
the items below it are one space higher up when I look for them, and my 
muscle memory becomes a liability instead of an asset. Disabled items 
are placeholders. Disabled items also tell me that I have found what I 
am looking for, and it is currently disabled for some reason. If it is 
gone, I may spend much time looking for it, not realizing that it is 
just GONE.

Sincerely,


John R. Brauer, Psy.D.
Clinical Psychologist