[HIG] REVIEW: 6 - Integrating Applications with the Desktop

[Calum Benson <calum benson sun com>]

6. Integrating Applications with the Desktop

Prefer "run" to "execute", as we say elsewhere in the guide (I think) to
avoid aggressive language in GUIs  :)

6.1 Placing Entries in the Panel Menu

"Menu categories are..."

Probably want to arrange these alphabetically in a table, with a
description of what each category is.  (I know this is the order Nils
has them in his proposal, but when I asked him why he couldn't give me a
reason, so it's subject to change  :)

6.1.1 Menu Entry Icons

Perhaps this really belongs in a section on icon or visual design, as it
covers some of the same topics as "designing toolbar icons" earlier, and
didn't really seem to fit in a chapter about "integrating applications"
to me anyway.

"Remember that icons will often be viewed in a smaller form".  I take it
GNOME still won't let you design the icon at in various sizes and use
the most appropriate size at runtime, but insists on munging down a
bigger icon instead?  :(

6.1.2 Menu Entry Captions

Perhaps provide URL for the reference to MIT's Athena user testing.

Example 2: "Image Editor (GIMP)".  Even "image" could be considered a
bit geeky, it's just a "picture" to most folks...

Example 3: "Minesweeper (GnomeMines)".  This seems to assume that the
user knows what "Minesweeper" is.  Perhaps for Games, "Name (Genre)" is
more appropriate, e.g. "GnomeMines (Puzzle)", "FreeCell (Card Game)" or
whatever?

Example 8: Typo, "SameGame" -> "SameGnome"

6.1.3 Menu Entry Tooltips

Examples: "Insert...", "Check...", "Arrange..." sounds a little forceful
to me, but I guess it gets around the problem of having a bunch of
tooltips that say "allows you to...", "lets you..."

6.2.  Providing a Connection between Documents & Applications

Title should be "and Applications", not "& Applications".

URL for GnomeVFS API reference?


-- 
CALUM BENSON, Usability Engineer       Sun Microsystems Ireland
mailto:calum benson ireland sun com    Desktop Engineering Group
http://www.sun.ie                      +353 1 819 9771

Any opinions are personal and not necessarily those of Sun Microsystems