Re: [Usability] Grouping Windows: Sticky Windows

[Nadyne Mielke <nmielke acm org>]

At 08:19 PM 4/6/2004, Ryan McDougall wrote:

> "Accidental stickings" are definitely a bad thing, and any design should
> avoid them; I'm just saying they don't directly impede usability (ie: it
> doesn't stop you from using your email).

If you look at the usability of a single application, I agree that it 
doesn't impede usability.  But if you look at a system-wide level, I think 
that it does.  Currently, my main task is writing this email.  But I have a 
handful of peripheral tasks, such as keeping an eye on my IM client to see 
if one of my co-workers logs in.  If these two windows were to be 
accidentally stuck together, and I didn't take the time to unstick them, 
then I might miss him when he logs in.  Or, if my media player were to get 
stuck to my email window, and a song came up that I didn't want to hear, I 
would lose some amount of time having to locate the window so that I could 
skip it.

I'm not trying to beat a dead horse, since you say below that this could be 
modal.  My intent here is to point out that although we tend to focus on 
usability at a single application level, we can't leave off a discussion of 
usability at the system level.  This is especially true in this instance, 
since the original idea is geared towards improving the usability of the 
whole system.

>If "Stickiness" is a modal feature, you could never inadvertently stick
> things without having just asked the WM to do so. Example: I want to
> stick my terminal and editor, so I click on the terminal window, choose
> "stickify this window". The window changes visual (border becomes
> greenish?) and when we drag it, it attaches itself to the nearest window
> but doesn't actually stick until we "drop" it where we want it (on the
> editor). Once dropped the terminal is "stuck" to the editor, but loses
> its "stickiness" and will no longer attach to another window.

I think that it does have to be modal.  I think that an inexperienced user 
would be rather put off if they were moving windows around their screen and 
they suddenly stuck to each other, so they were moving two (or more!) 
windows around at the same time.

/nm