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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: Show/Hide vs Checkbox
From:       Thomas Zander <zander32 () gmail ! com>
Date:       2005-03-30 21:53:03
Message-ID: ed64b31a05033013535182c8c2 () mail ! gmail ! com
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On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 21:58:53 +0200, Diego Moya <turingt@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 21:31:15 +0200, Wilco Greven
> > I'm not sure if I understand your question, but when an item says "Hide
> > Menubar" it means that executing it will hide the menubar.
> The problem is that users really don't read text labels when they know
> what the widget does. It's true that they don't. Using GUIs is habit
> forming, and when it's formed the you work in auto-pilot and don't
> read things. Reading the label only works when learning to use the
> interface, but not after you have mastered it.

I suggest you take an application you are very familiar with and
switch it to (for example) japanese so you can't read what it says; 
then test the above statements.
I'm sure you will come back stating that recognizing the words is
_very_ important for navigating the menus.

> If you put several toggle menu items together (like in
> Settings->Toolbars), the perceived meaning is "some of the toolbars
> are shown, some are hidden". That is, the menu is showing the state of
> the application, but then "Hide" and "Show" suggest to the user the
> opposite to the current state - you see "show" when the toolbar is
> hidden (which is weird), and the other way around.

Here you obviously come from the case where you are used to the wierd
opposite case that you had to learn to use the checked menu items
where this is the case.
It is true that the current KDE standard means you have to reverse
what you learned earlier; but you have to see that the menus all state
what they are going to do when you click them, and now with the
show/hide this includes the view menu.
The point that you find it confusing probably comes from your
experience using another system; fact is also that changing this now
(again) is going to give users the same problems.  In fact; since KDE
is still a minority desktop environment more people will come from the
show/hide corners then from a checked corner since Windows and Mac
both do it like we do it now.

So, while your confusion is annoying for you, it also shows us that
for the broad user base that KDE is aiming at the current solution is
the one that avoids confusion for most users.

I honestly am sorry that you have to unlearn something like this, though..

-- 
Thomas Zander
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