Re: Tips on what to avoid

[Tom Vogt <tom lemuria org>]

Oskar Liljeblad <osk@hem.passagen.se> wrote:

[help]
> >right justification makes it much easier to find in a consistent interface,
> >imho. if it ALWAYS is right justified, you can find it at one glance.
>
> Yes, but if the size of the window changes, so will the position of the help
> menu. My personal experience is that it IS easier to find the menu if it is
> the last LEFT justified menu item, since the left part of the window is
> almost always visible on screen. As a side note, Microsoft decided to make
> the help menu left justified in all applications after Windows 3.11.
>
which doesn't say a thing because M$ is not exactly harvesting prices for
good user interfaces. :)

I think there are merrits for both points of view. for right justification:
high consistency, constant relative position, very easy and fast to find,
stands out from all other menues (functional difference: help doesn't "do"
something).
for left justification - those you just mentioned.

maybe again customizability is the ultimate solution, but doesn't solve the
problem of finding a sane default.


-- 
The universe does not have laws -- it has habits, and habits can be broken.