Module 3 Uid 15CS832
Module 3 Uid 15CS832
USER INTERFACE
DESIGN
Text Book
Module 3
Text Book: Part 2 Step 4
System menus and navigation schemes- Structures of
menus, Functions of menus, Contents of menus,
Formatting of menus, Phrasing the menu, Selecting menu
choices, Navigating menus, Kinds of graphical menus.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 3
Structures of Menus
(Answer to Assignment Qno17 slide no 4-10)
Menus vary in form from very simple to very complex. They
may range from small dialog boxes requesting the user to
choose between one of two alternatives, to hierarchical tree
schemes with many branches and level of depth.
Types of menus
• Single Menus
• Sequential Linear Menus
• Simultaneous Menus
• Hierarchical Menus
• Connected Menus
• Event-Trapping Menus
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 5
Single Menus
In this simplest form of menu, a single screen or window is
presented to seek the user’s input or request an action to
be performed, as shown below:
Sequential path menus have several shortcomings. A long sequence may become
tedious as menu after menu is presented. The user may not remember an answer
to a previous question, a question important to the currently presented choices.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 7
Simultaneous Menus
Instead of being presented on separate screens, all menu
options are available simultaneously as shown below:
Hierarchical Menus
When many relationships exist between menu alternatives, and some
menu options are only appropriate depending upon a previous menu
selection, a hierarchical structure is the best solution.
Note that the top level of the tree is considered level 0 with subsequent
levels numbered sequentially beginning with number 1. Starting at the top,
level 0, two selections, or mouse clicks, are required to reach level 2.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 9
Connected Menus
Connected menus are networks of menus all interconnected in some manner.
Movement through a structure of menus is not restricted to a hierarchical tree,
but is permitted between most or all menus in the network. From the user’s
perspective there is no top-down traversal of the menu system but an almost
unhindered wandering between any two menus of interest.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 10
Event-Trapping Menus
Event Trapping menus provide an ever-present background of
control over the system’s state and parameters while the user is
working on a foreground task. They are, in essence, a set of
simultaneous menus imposed on hierarchical menus.
Event-trapping menus generally serve one of three functions.
(1) They may immediately change some parameter in the current
environment (bold a piece of text),
(2) they may take the user out of the current environment to
perform a function without leaving the current environment
(perform a spell check),
(3) they may exit the current environment and allow the user to
move to a totally new environment (Exit).
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 11
Functions of Menus
(Answer to Assignment Qno19 slide no 11)
• Navigation to a New Menu
Each user selection causes another menu in a hierarchical menu tree to be
displayed. The purpose of each selection is to steer the user toward an objective or
goal.
• Execute an Action or Procedure
A user selection directs the computer to implement an action or perform a
procedure. The action may be something like opening or closing a file, copying text,
or sending a message.
• Displaying Information
The main purpose of selecting a menu choice may simply be to display information.
The user may be searching for specific information in a database or browsing the
Web. The user’s focus is primarily on the information desired and less on the
selection function.
• Data or Parameter Input
Each selection specifies a piece of input data for the system or provides a
parameter value. Data or values may be input on a single menu or spread over
a hierarchy of menus.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 12
Content of Menus
(Answer to Assignment Qno21 slide no 12)
A menu consists of four elements, its context, its title, its
choice descriptions, and its completion instructions.
• Menu Context
A menu’s context provides information to keep the user oriented. This kind of
information is critical in complex or hierarchical menu systems, where loss of
position or disorientation can easily occur.
• Menu Title
A menu’s title provides the context for the current set of choices. The title must
reflect the choice selected on the previously displayed menu.
• Choice Descriptions
Choice descriptions are the alternatives available to the user. These
descriptions can range from a mnemonic, numeric, or alphabetized listing of
choices to single words or phrases to full sentences or more.
• Completion Instructions
Completion instructions tell users how to indicate their choices. They may include
the rationale for why the user is being asked to make this choice and the impact the
choice will have on subsequent processes.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 13
Formatting of Menus
Guidelines for formatting menus:
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Intent Indicator
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Keyboard Equivalents
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Standard Keyboard Equivalents
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Keyboard accelerators
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Mark toggles
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 34
Navigating Menus
Navigation, and an efficient navigational structure, is the most important element in system
usability. A simple and clear navigational structure is the backbone upon which all system features
are draped. In Web site design, the most successful sites have been found to be those with easy
to use and understand navigational systems.
Web Site Navigation Problems
Technical issues
The graphical system user must deal with only one operating system whose navigational
characteristics are standard and fairly consistent. The Web user must confront two navigational
systems, that of the browser being used and that of the Web site being viewed.
Another problem: Because of the rapidly evolving and expanding nature of the Web, Web sites
also have a tendency to grow and grow. As more and more is added, what may have been initially
a reasonable structure and menu scheme slowly dissolves into a confusing mass of listings and
linked pages.
Usage problems
The two most serious user problems in Web navigation are the heavy mental loads imposed
to use the Web and the feeling of spatial disorientation that often occurs. This problem may
also occur in hierarchically structured graphical systems. The cognitive or mental overhead
the user must expend in making decisions concerning which links to follow, or to abandon,
can be overwhelming .
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 36
Navigation Goals
(Answer to Assignment Qno23 slide no 36)
For the user, answers to the following questions must be obvious at all times during an interaction: Where
am I now? Where did I come from? Where can I go from here? How can I get there quickly?
General system navigation guidelines include the following:
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 37
Textual Phrases:
■ Provide a mix of textual phrase links:
— In explicit menus.
— Embedded within page text.
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Overviews
■ Provide:
— An executive summary that provides a preview of the
site and contains links to all major concepts.
— A site map illustrating the site’s hierarchical structure
and the relationships of components.
— Both global and local maps.
— An alphabetized site index.
— A table of contents.
■ Allow accessibility from any point in the Web site
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 42
Historical Trails:
■ Provide:
— Breadcrumb Trails.
• Locate at the top of the page below the navigation links.
— History Lists.
— History Trees.
— Footprints.
— Bookmarks.
Search Facility:
■ Provide a search facility.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 43
Number of Links:
■ Every page should contain at least one link.
■ Be conservative in the total number of links presented on a screen:
— Without logical groupings of elements, limit links to 4 to 8.
— With logical groupings of elements, limit links to 18 to 24.
■ Restrict embedded links to those most important, pertinent, and interesting.
— Place less relevant links in a listing.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 44
Presenting Links:
■ Link text:
— Underline all link text, including that:
• Embedded in page content.
• Contained in explicit menu listings.
• Contained in headings.
• Used as graphical labels.
— Distinguish between unselected/unvisited links and selected/visited links.
• Make unselected/unvisited links blue.
• Make selected/visited links purple.
■ Kinds of links:
— Distinguish links leading to different Web destinations through a differentiating symbol:
• Precede links to content within the same page with a pound sign (#).
– For links moving downward in the page, use: #The principles of design.
– For links moving upward in the page use: #^ Principles introduction.
• Precede links to external or foreign sites with another unique symbol such as an asterisk (*): *
Additional information.
• Do not precede links to other site pages with any symbol:
– More principles of design.
— Also distinguish links leading to different Web destinations by presenting them in consistent
locations.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 45
■ Graphical links:
— Distinguish graphical links from decorative graphics
through:
• Underlining graphical text labels.
■ Links in toolbars:
— Distinguish links contained in toolbars through:
• Presenting in consistent locations.
• Using different coloured backgrounds.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 46
Other Link Guidelines:
■ Writing:
— Provide links to satisfy a range of user needs.
— Create descriptive links clearly indicating their destination or resulting action.
■ Grouping:
— Group links by the most relevant menu-grouping scheme.
— Separate visually the following types of navigation:
• Upward to the immediate parent page.
• Upward to the beginning of the section or category of information.
• Across to main sections or categories of information.
• To basic utilities.
■ Ordering:
— Order links by the most relevant menu choice-ordering scheme.
■ Heading:
— Where appropriate, provide a listing heading describing the organizing category,
principle, or theme.
■ Size:
— Provide graphical images and command buttons of sufficient and equal size.
■ Spacing:
— Create equal spacing between choices graphical image and textual listing
toolbars.
■ Inapplicability:
— Disable and display dimmed links conditionally not applicable.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 47
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Kinds of Links:
■ Within a page:
— For long pages, include links to internal page content.
■ Within a Web site:
— On all pages include links to:
• The Web site home page.
• Global Web site features.
• Other main pages, navigation points, or categories.
• The likely Web site starting point.
• Main pages with links to the page.
— On sequential pages, include links to the:
• Next page.
• Previous page.
— Also consider including links to:
• Places of related interest.
• Important pages.
• Background or explanatory information.
• Supplemental information.
• New or changed content.
• Web site Quit or Exit.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 49
■ External links:
— Most appropriate for informational sites.
— Provide links to relevant information on other Web sites.
• Related content.
• Reference information.
• Background reading.
— Place external links on a separate page.
— Provide an indication when a link goes outside the current site.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 50
Link Maintenance
■ Maintain correct internal links.
■ Frequently check and correct external links.
1. Menu Bar
■ Proper usage:
— To identify and provide access to common and frequently used
application actions that take place in a wide variety of different
windows.
— A menu bar choice by itself should not initiate an action.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 53
Display
■ All primary windows must have a menu bar.
■ All menu bars must have an associated pull-down menu containing at least two
choices.
■ Do not allow the user to turn off the display of the menu bar.
■ If all the items in its associated pull-down menu are disabled, then disable the
menu bar item.
— Display the disabled item in a visually subdued manner.
— However, the disabled pull-down menu must always be capable of being pulled
down so that the choices may be seen.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 54
Location
■ Position choices horizontally over the entire row at the top of the
screen, just below the screen title.
■ A large number of choices may necessitate display over two rows.
Title
■ The window title will be the menu bar title.
Item Descriptions
■ The menu item descriptions must clearly reflect the kinds of choices available
in the associated pull-down menus.
■ Menu item descriptions will be the “titles” for pull-down menus associated
with them.
■ Use mixed-case letters to describe choices.
■ Use single-word choices whenever possible.
■ Do not display choices that are never available to the user.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 55
Organization
■ Follow standard platform ordering schemes where they exist.
— Place application-specific choices where they fit best.
■ Order choices left-to-right with:
— Most frequent choices to the left.
— Related information grouped together.
■ Choices found on more than one menu bar should be consistently positioned.
■ Left-justify choices within the line.
■ When choices can be logically grouped, provide visual logical groupings, if
possible.
■ Help, when included, should be located at the right side of the bar.
Layout
■ Indent the first choice one space from the left margin.
■ Leave at least three spaces between each of the succeeding choices (except
for Help which will be right-justified).
■ Leave one space between the final choice and the right margin.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 56
Separation
■ Separate the bar from the remainder of the screen by:
— A different background, or
— Solid lines above and below.
Other Components
■ Keyboard equivalent mnemonics should be included on menu bars.
■ Keyboard accelerators, to a window indicators, and cascade indicators need not
be included.
Selection Indication
■ Keyboard cursor:
— Use a reverse video, or reverse color, selection cursor to surround the choice.
— Cover the entire choice, including one blank space before and after the choice
word.
■ Pointer: — Use reverse video, or reverse color, to highlight the selected choice.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 57
2. Pull-Down Menu
■ Proper usage:
— To initiate frequently used application actions that take place on a wide
variety of different windows.
— A small number of items.
— Items best represented textually.
— Items whose content rarely changes.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 58
Display
■ Display all possible alternatives.
■ Gray-out or dim items that cannot be chosen due to the current state of an application.
Location
■ Position the pull-down directly below the selected menu bar choice.
Size
■ Must contain a minimum of two choices.
■ Restrict to no more than 5 to 10 choices, preferably 8 or less.
Title
■ Not necessary on a pull-down menu. The title will be the name of the menu bar item chosen.
Item Descriptions
■ Use mixed-case, headline-style words to describe choices.
— If the choices can be displayed graphically, for example, as fill-in patterns, shades, or colors,
textual descriptions are not necessary.
■ Do not:
— Identify a menu item by the same wording as its menu title.
— Change the meaning of menu items through use of the Shift key.
— Use scrolling in pull-downs.
— Place instructions in pull-downs
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 59
Organization
■ Follow standard platform ordering schemes when they exist.
— Place application-specific choices where they fit best.
■ Place frequent or critical items at the top.
■ Separate destructive choices from other choices.
■ Align choices into columns, with:
— Most frequent choices toward the top.
— Related choices grouped together.
— Choices found on more than one pull-down consistently positioned.
■ Left-align choice descriptions.
■ Multicolumn menus are not desirable. If necessary, organize top-to-bottom,
then left-to-right.
Layout
■ Leave the menu bar choice leading to the pull-down highlighted in the
selected manner (reverse video or reverse color).
■ Physically, the pull-down menu must be wide enough to accommodate the
longest menu item description and its cascade or accelerator indicator.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 60
■ Align the first character of the pull-down descriptions under the second
character of the applicable menu bar choice.
■ Horizontally, separate the pull-down choice descriptions from the pull-down
borders by two spaces on the left side and at least two spaces on the right side.
— The left-side border will align with the left side of the highlighted menu bar
choice.
— The right-side border should extend, at minimum, to the right side of its
highlighted menu bar choice
— Pull-downs for choices on the far right side of the menu bar, or long pull-
down descriptions, may require alignment to the left of their menu bar choice to
maintain visibility and clarity.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 61
Groupings
■ Provide groupings of related pull-down choices:
— Incorporate a solid line between major groupings.
— Incorporate a dotted or dashed line between subgroups.
— Left-justify the lines under the first letter of the columnized choice
descriptions.
— Right-justify the lines under the last character of the longest choice
description.
— Display the solid line in the same color as the choice descriptions.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 62
Separation
■ Separate the pull-down from the remainder of the screen, but visually relate it
to the menu bar by:
— Using a background color the same as the menu bar.
— Displaying choice descriptions in the same color as the menu bar.
— Incorporating a solid-line border completely around the pull-down in the same
color as the choice descriptions.
■ A drop shadow (a heavier shaded line along two borders that meet) may also
be included.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 65
Selection Cursor
■ Use a reverse video, or reverse color, selection cursor the same color as the
menu bar to surround the choice.
■ Create a consistently sized cursor as wide as the pull-down menu
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 66
3. Cascading Menus
■ Proper usage:
— To reduce the number of choices presented together for selection (reduce menu
breadth).
— When a menu specifies many alternatives and the alternatives can be grouped in
meaningful related sets on a lower-level menu.
— When a choice leads to a short, fixed list of single-choice properties.
— When there are several fixed sets of related options.
— To simplify a menu.
— Avoid using for frequent, repetitive commands.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 67
Cascade Indicator
■ Place an arrow or right-pointing triangle to the right of each menu choice description
leading to a cascade menu.
■ Separate the indicator from the choice description by one space.
■ Display the indicator in the same color as the choice descriptions.
Location
■ Position the first choice in the cascading menu immediately to the right of the
selected choice.
■ Leave the choice leading to the cascading menu highlighted.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 68
Levels
■ Do not exceed three menu levels (two cascades).
— Only one cascading menu is preferred.
Title
■ Not necessary on the cascading menu. — The title will be the name of the
higher-level menu item chosen.
Other Guidelines
■ Follow the organization, content, layout, separation, and selection cursor
guidelines for the kind of menu from which the menu cascades.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 69
4. Pop-up Menus
■ Use to present alternatives or choices within the context
of the task.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 70
Display
■ Provide a pop-up menu for common, frequent, contextual actions.
— If the pointer is positioned over an object possessing more than one quality (for
example, both text and graphics), at minimum present actions common to all object
qualities.
■ Items that cannot be chosen due to the current state of an application should not
be displayed.
■ Continue to display a pop-up until:
— A choice is selected.
— An action outside the pop-up is initiated.
— The user removes the pop-up.
Location
■ Position the pop-up:
— Centered and to the right of the object from which it was requested.
— Close enough to the pointer so that the pointer can be easily moved onto
the menu.
— But not so close that the pointer is positioned on an item, possibly leading to
accidental selection.
■ If the pointer is positioned in such a manner that the pop-up would appear
offscreen or clipped, position the menu:
— As close as possible to the object, but not covering the object.
— So that it appears fully on the screen.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 71
Size
■ Restrict the pop-up to no more than 5 to 10 choices, preferably 8 or less.
Title
■ Not necessary on a pop-up menu.
■ If included, clearly describe the menu’s purpose.
■ Locate in a centered position at the top.
■ Display in uppercase or mixed-case letters.
■ Separate it from the menu items by a line extending from the left menu border to the right
border.
Other Guidelines
■ Arrange logically organized and grouped choices into columns.
■ If items are also contained in pull-down menus, organize pop-up menus in the same
manner.
■ Left-align choice descriptions.
■ Use mixed-case headline-style words to describe choices.
■ Separate groups with a solid line the length of the longest choice description.
■ If the choice leads to a pop-up window, place an ellipsis after the choice description.
■ To separate the pop-up from the screen background:
— Use a contrasting, but complementary background.
— Incorporate a solid line border around the pull-down.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 72
5. Tear-off Menus
■ Follow all relevant guidelines for pull-down menus.
A tear-off menu is a pull-down menu that can be positioned anywhere on the
screen for constant referral. As such, it possesses all the characteristics of a
pull-down. It may also be called a pushpin, detachable, or roll-up menu
6. Iconic Menus
7. Pie Menus
■ Consider using for:
— Mouse-driven selections, with one- or two-level hierarchies, short lists, and
choices conducive to the format.
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 75
Help
• Contents
• Search for
• Help On
• How to Use
• Help About
(Application)
By Dr. sandhya N Dept of CSE DSATM 76
Disabled Commands
■ When a command is not available, indicate its disabled status by displaying it
grayed out or subdued.
■ If selection of a disabled command is attempted, provide a message in the
information area that the “Help” function will explain why it is disabled.