[Usability] Re: Help tip area (Was: Better look Re: (no subject))

[Josue Farde <josuefrade sapo pt>]

On Thu, 2005-12-15 at 11:05 +0000, Joachim Noreiko wrote:
> --- Josue Farde <josuefrade sapo pt> wrote:
> > and the explanation box insted of being on top of
> > the icon appears from
> > the top right side with the icon and the explanation
> > margined right...
> 
> I didn't this idea at first... but the more I think
> about it, the more I like it.
> 
> Consider tooltips:
> - they often cover up the object they related to
> - they disppear before you've read them
> 
> These are bad for users whose reading speed is slow,
> or whose speed at taking in interface elements is
> slow. In fact, they can sometimes confuse a user, who
> is reading one thing only to have it covered up. I
> sometimes find myself apologizing for tooltips when
> showing beginner users something, because they get in
> the way.
> 
> There is a limit on how much you can fit into a
> tooltip. This isn't a problem with the menu tooltips,
> since they are short... at least in English.
> But I have been thinking about GConfig, and why I
> sometimes prefer using that instead of a preferences
> dialog. GConf has a lot of built-in help, that is
> displayed in the panel below the property list. A lot
> of the long help texts are too big for a tooltip.
> 
> You also can't get further help from a tooltip: you
> can't put a link to open the help documentation in
> yelp.
> 
> So, imagine a help box that comes down from the top
> panel, just like the calendar applet. 
> You could keep it open and check new messages that
> appear there.
> It would always be in the same place: you'd know where
> to look.
> It wouldn't interfere with the mouse or cover up the
> object you're looking at.
> It could provide more than a brief sentence to
> explain.
> It could provide a link to more extensive
> documentation.

I absolutly agree with this.....

josue
> 
> I think a mockup of this would be interesting -- but
> based on the current GNOME look. This is a separate
> idea from changing the theming of GNOME.
> 
did u had chance to look into the mockup i did?

> We would need to include a clause that the help box
> can NEVER be drawn as a speech bubble with a cartoon
> character based on office stationery ;)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 		
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