Tabbed Interfaces
I was telling my friends about Windows Tabbed Interface: They make it difficult for the users to create mental-models. Especially when the interface has multiple rows of tabs. Take a look:
The Options (Tools>Options) dialog in Word (2002):
The tab that you choose becomes �active� by coming down, and in the process pushes the default lower tab up; and leaves an impression that the whole thing is being jumbled up. It is not actually, but the interface gives that illusion. And as my friend Shalin pointed out, the mouse-pointer stays on the same spot on your screen, while the tab that you had clicked on slips down to the lower row. This most definitely leaves the users wondering (even though for a second) �hey where did that tab go?� This unsettling behavior of the tabbed-interface, makes it tougher for the user to create a mental-model. See Pictures: Picture 1 Picture 2
See more Tabbed Monsters: Tabbed Dialogs: Hall of Shame It would be nice if the MS-Word development team does something about it; I heard that they have a whopping budget for usabilty (Suman groans in envy).
write to me: suman at sumankumar dot com Add to:del.icio.us| Digg| Reddit| StumbleUpon| Technorati
The tab that you choose becomes �active� by coming down, and in the process pushes the default lower tab up; and leaves an impression that the whole thing is being jumbled up. It is not actually, but the interface gives that illusion. And as my friend Shalin pointed out, the mouse-pointer stays on the same spot on your screen, while the tab that you had clicked on slips down to the lower row. This most definitely leaves the users wondering (even though for a second) �hey where did that tab go?� This unsettling behavior of the tabbed-interface, makes it tougher for the user to create a mental-model. See Pictures: Picture 1 Picture 2
See more Tabbed Monsters: Tabbed Dialogs: Hall of Shame It would be nice if the MS-Word development team does something about it; I heard that they have a whopping budget for usabilty (Suman groans in envy).
write to me: suman at sumankumar dot com Add to:del.icio.us| Digg| Reddit| StumbleUpon| Technorati
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