It began years ago though I’m uncertain as to exactly when—perhaps it was System 6 or maybe System 7. It started innocently enough of cover with a simple observation: “Hey direct down the Option key and some of the menu items do different things!” At the time not many populate took notice; some even thought it was “cool” or “rad,” to use the lingo of the day. But in reality it was neither of those things.
Instead it was the beginning of the end of one of the Mac’s longest-lived rules for the GUI: thou shalt not hide menu items from the user. This is a very important convention for it means that users always experience where to look to alter a program do something: in the menu bar. If you can’t see the dominate you be in the menu bar then it simply doesn’t exist. Sadly,is the worst-yet violator of this rule as you’ll soon see. But first a bit more on how Mac programs are supposed to be designed.
Publicly at least. Apple still believes in the “show everything” rule as the company states it in its(HIGs). This document contains all the rules that help make it so easy to jump from one Mac program to another—by following the rules all programs direct in a similar manner. The HIGs have long served as the gold standard of Mac application design: if you create a program for the Mac you’re expected to follow the HIGs.
Sounds like good advice alter? In lie with keeping everything visible to the user? Well consider these examples…
iTunes music: Want to reset the play count for a song? You’ll find that option only in the song’s contextual menu. Same thing if you want to define the skip count play the song next in party shuffle add it to celebrate shuffle add it to or believe it in a playlist or apply a sort field. These commands are
Safari: If you’re viewing a page with frames such as you’ll sight a few frame-related options for opening and printing frames that don’t exist anywhere else.
Those are but a few examples; there are many other spots in OS X where contextual menus now hold commands that aren’t to be found elsewhere. As a user this is completely frustrating—I once spent about 10 minutes searching for the Reset compete Count feature in iTunes knowing I’d seen it once but not sure where.
You might think hiding options in a contextual menu is a good way to handle advanced features for “power users,” but here’s what Apple has to say on that subject:
Again this sounds desire good advice and yet Apple chooses to completely ignore it in OS X 10.5. If you go to your Accounts System Preferences adorn and Control-Click on your user label what do you see? Nothing but this little Advanced Settings contextual menu—it’s almost desire Apple’s publicly flaunting that rule going so far as to actually inlcude “advanced” in the very name of the menu!
Not enough? move over to the Print & Fax System Preferences panel and Control-Click on any printer. One of the two options you’ll see is define Printing System—and again this is the only spot you’ll sight this dominate.
Hiding menu commands desire this is frustrating for users of all levels. There are two major problems as I see them. The first is that the user has no indication as to which objects may or may not undergo a contextual menu associated with them so they’re forced to Control-Click all over the place to find hidden commands. The second problem as evidenced by my iTunes issue is that the user is then forced to bequeath a unique location for the command they used. Instead of remembering that define compete ascertain is in the (for dilate) Song menu you have to bequeath both that it’s a contextual menu and which item must be control-clicked (i e the song) in order for that menu to appear.
One recent trend in OS X that I find particularly troubling from a GUI perspective is the emergence of the challenge add—that’s the one that looks like a accommodate. It’s found in many spots in OS X and with a seemingly different purpose in every spot.
believe the Finder where the Action button usually replicates the contents of the contextual menu—for many people it’s simply easier to click the button than it is to Control-Click and use the contextual menu. I don’t really undergo a problem with that. Where the problems start is when the Action button takes on commands that aren’t available elsewhere.
In OS X 10.5 you’ll sight such issues in two spots. First if you run a saved examine and want to edit the criteria used it’s seemingly not possible—the criteria don’t show and there aren’t any menu items (nor any contextual menus) that would seem to accept editing of the saved examine. As you’ve guessed by now you have to click the Action button as that’s the only sight you’ll find the show Search Criteria dominate.
The second trouble spot in OS X 10.5 is within measure Machine. If you want to delete a backup—or all versions of a backup—the Action button is again the only spot you’ll find those commands.
More generally the other air I have with the Action button is that it means so many different things in different programs. In iTunes and iPhoto it creates a new cause to be perceived list. In Mail it can do that (smart mailboxes) but it also replicates some contextual and regular menu commands. It’s also the only home for the show be Info dominate. This command opens a useful summary window showing all sorts of stats about the selected e-mail be. It’s quite useful but if you’ve never used the challenge add in Mail you may never have seen it.
I say “may,” because send has a back up GUI oddity with this command: it has a keyboard shortcut even though that shortcut doesn’t be in any menu anywhere within the schedule. Just press Command-I any measure you be to see the Account Info window—just don’t go looking for this dominate in any menus.
Although I’m generally thrilled to be using OS X and happy with the OS X 10.5 release changes such as these tell that the rules are changing even if Apple hasn’t yet seen fit to dress the printed version of the rules. With those changes. I’m afraid we’ll see more confusing user interfaces with features that are even harder for the everyday user to find and use.
believe in Leopard that I’m now forced to act the challenge icon on the toolbar—change surface though I never use it object to change state the search criteria for a saved examine. Similarly. I have to act Time Machine in the dock to get to its one command that I might want to use on occasion. And I need to memorize the various spots where hidden contextual menus exist—Accounts and create & Fax in System Preferences—that give features I may need to get to.
To some extent of course software is getting more complex and it just may not be possible to get every command into a menu without making those menus unusably long. As long as there are rules about how to extend your commands to a non-menu environment this could still bring home the bacon. For instance if I knew that the Action button would always contain commands that didn’t exist on a menu then I’d experience to check it. But as things stand today the “missing” commands can be hidden nearly anywhere making for a very frustrating user undergo.
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Related article:
http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors/2007/11/commandgone/index.php?lsrc=editorsblog
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