Re: [HIG] Capplet buttons/guidelines

[Seth Nickell <snickell stanford edu>]

On Wed, 2001-12-26 at 13:12, Christian Rose wrote:
> sön 2001-12-23 klockan 08.48 skrev Matthew Thomas:
> > > 
> > > > ,------:-------------------------------------------.
> > > > |::::::|:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::|
> > > > +------:-------------------------------------------+
> > > > |  ,   This message scores 7 chillies on the       |
> > > > | /!\  flame-o-meter. Are you sure you want to     |
> > > > | """  send it?                                    |
> > > > |      :                                           |
> > > > |      :                                           |
> > > > | [?]  ( Don't Send )        ( Cancel ) (( Send )) |
> > > > `------:-------------------------------------------'
> > > 
> > > Just out of wild curiosity, what's the difference between "Cancel" and
> > > "Don't Send" in this case?
> > >...
> > 
> > The same as for an unsaved document. `Cancel' returns you to the message
> > composition window (cancelling the operation which brought up the alert,
> > as usual), whereas `Don't Send' discards the message.
> 
> Are you sure this distinction is entirely clear to the user?
> 
> I for one would have expected the "Don't Send" button (should there be
> one) to not send the message, and bring me back to the message
> composition window. I would be very annoyed if it did something else
> than it said by also discarding the message; a message that I might have
> spent a lot of time writing and maybe just wanted to send later.

Obviously the example here wasn't meant to illustrate buttons, so I
think a better wording using the cancel button would be:

   |  ( Discard Message )                  ( Cancel )  (( Send )) |

However, I find that somewhat ambiguous too.... I think this is a pretty
good illustration of why its better to have the "Cancel" button be an
action verb... for example:

   |  ( Discard Message )               ( Don't Send ) (( Send )) |

(where don't send would take you back to the composition window)

-Seth