[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: Is "What's this ?" help efficient ?
From:       Edwin Steiner <edwin.steiner () gmx ! net>
Date:       2004-08-17 17:49:00
Message-ID: 20040817174900.GC13371 () kanada ! local
[Download RAW message or body]

On Sun, Aug 15, 2004 at 06:51:55PM +0200, Gérard Delafond wrote:
> I think "What's this ?" is under-used because people don't know the mechanism 
> it works and find it is difficult to use:

Yes. A pity, because "What's This?" is a great way to document KDE.

> When you need some help, you must
> -know how works "what's this" system
> -cross the window up to the question mark (if it exists, if not =>Menubar => 
> Help =>What's this ?)

IMO the "What's This?" menu item is ok for completeness but rather useless
for unexperienced users. (Too hard to discover.)

The question mark in the title bar is sufficiently prominent to be
discovered by users. (Also the symbol is recognized as a help function.)

There should only ever be no ?-button if there is absolutely no "What's This"
help inside the window. 

It would be even better if the "What's This" function worked globally and
could be activated in any title bar and used (independently) in any window.

> -click on it
> -cross the window back to your item

The current change of the cursor might be a bit too subtle, too.

> -hope the "what's this" is not empty and is interesting

Maybe the first time the user "what's this"-clicks in vain there should be
a message apologizing that "w/t" help is not everywhere, but the user
should keep trying. (Displaying a default "w/t" message would also be
an option.)

Also the tooltip text, if any, could be used as a fallback for missing
"w/t" text.

> -click on the item (and hope it will not launch the action)

This is a *bad* problem. Not-launching should be guaranteed for "w/t".

> Imagine there would be a litte icon next to the label. This icon could be a 
> buoy or a question mark.
> A simple click on it would launch the "What's this" help.
> If the "What's this" does not exist, there would be no icon.

Elegant if there are few of them, but for complex dialogs this would add
a lot of visual noise. I would also exclude this for areas which are
on-screen permanently.

> Other idea : in the tooltip, there would be a "More help" label.

I like the idea, but how could the label be clicked, as tooltips
tend to close when you move the mouse towards them.

> I think with a similar mechanism, people would use it much more.
> 
> What do you think ?


I think improving "What's This" would really be worth the effort.

-Edwin

_______________________________________________
kde-usability mailing list
kde-usability@kde.org
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-usability
[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]