From kde-look  Tue Sep 14 15:56:34 1999
From: Peter Penz <peter.penz () jk ! uni-linz ! ac ! at>
Date: Tue, 14 Sep 1999 15:56:34 +0000
To: kde-look
Subject: Summary: User Interface Standards
X-MARC-Message: https://marc.info/?l=kde-look&m=93732446001849

Hi!

I got many mails about the KDE-UI-Standards site. I'll add many good
suggestions the next days and hope you'll like them.

Please check (use RELOAD to get the newest version!):
http://www.esh.uni-linz.ac.at/~mother/hci/basics/index.html

I want to give now a small summary, to have a survey about which points
have still to be solved and which points seem to be ok.

MOUSE:
I was very surprised that the mouse-behaviour, which is now in the
guidelines, was widely accepted. Maybe this is, because (for sure)
there'll be an option in konqueror for the single-click (default:
single-click/double-click). So everybody seems to be happy and we have
now a conistent way of mouse-behaviour for ALL applications.

This point was one of the most important for me to get a consistent
solution.

DIALOGS:
I know the current content isn't very good. Currently there's a
discussion how to order the buttons. I personally (!) agree that we
should have OK always on the most left (user reads from left to
right...). But I don't want to change the current standard, if the new
solution is only a small improvement, but we have to change 100 existing
applications, which respected the old standard...

KEYS:
There were many discussions about the keys, before KDE1.0 was there - it
doesn't make sense to change this and start the whole discussion again.

I got some suggestions and will add (!) some keybindings, which got a
standard (e. g. Ctrl+A for Select All), but won't change old
standard-bindings!

Please tell me wrong/forgotten key-bindings (heard, that there are some
mistakes in it - sorry...).

MENU - OPTIONS:
Got some mails about the options-menu. Many people don't like the "Save
Option". I got allready some solutions, but need some response, about:
- should we really change this (it's standard currently)?
- if yes: how is the solution (it must be definatly better,
  otherwise we can't change an old standard!).

CLOSE & EXIT:
I read all comments about this topic and think it looses the focus while
the last discussions. 

Please check the current solution on (please use RELOAD):
http://www.esh.uni-linz.ac.at/~mother/hci/menus/file.html
I think it is consistent and easy to understand. But I need to know, if
this will be accepted. If you don't like this solution:
- arguments (!), why not...
- solution for the problem.

I've read allready around 60 mails about this topic, but I'm missing
arguments and real consistent solutions. But in summarize there was a
big agreement, that the behaviour of Exit was very bad and inconsistent.
After leaving it away completely I got a very consistent and good
solution from Gernot Bauer. You can find this solution on the page.
Gernots argument against closing a window only with X-Button (=> no
Exit) is, that he thinks that many people close a window through the
file-menu and this got a defacto-standard.

He votes for:
- Close: Closes the document
  (NOT window - very consistent because new, open...
   create/open a document, not a window).
- Quit (Ctrl-Q allready standard-keybinding).
  Closes the window (no matter how many apps.
  are behind that).
I personally like this suggestion very much, too. Please note the
difference to the old and problematic behaviour of Close/Exit:
- Close: closed the window (!)
  not the document.
- Exit: quits the application (problem:
  user can only see windows and not how
  many applications are behind the window -
  please read earlier mails about this problem).

Thanks for reading this long mail!

Peter