Re: [Usability] Options, Check, Toggle, Exclusive

[Kirk Bridger <kbridger shaw ca>]

I'm not clear on how the ribbon would behave - could the target be increased in size such that the user could click anywhere on the ribbon (and thus on any part of the radio button collection) and on mouse down the selection either move to the click location or if physically impossible (such as when the user clicks below the last selection) the user can keep the mouse down and "scroll" (drag) the selection aspect up or down, watching as the selected items highlight as they run the ribbon up and down?

For example, I click and drag up 3 radio button items.  As I pass each item the ribbon moves with the cursor and each radio button item becomes "selected" as I pass the item.  The item closest to my mouse up event becomes the selected item.

I hope my description is clear.  Just a thought as I'm not sure how this would feel in the real world.  But it increases the target size to be the entire column of radio buttons and provides the user the ability to hit anywhere on the target and still end up with their choice being any one of the radio items.

Kirk


Thorsten Wilms wrote:

On Sun, May 13, 2007 at 11:19:02PM +0200, Amaury Chamayou wrote:

  

... but I think we are not
trying to improve speed here, but usability. What we are aiming for is
making the "multiple choices, yet exclusive" obvious at first sight, I
believe.
    

Interesting you would think of speed not being part of usability.


  

Maximum speed of use remains the same for users who have some experience
already (ie : they clicked somewhere, and observed the ribbon positionned
itself, with a fast, yet percievable move, on that option, and now know they
can do that every time).
    

It's about avoiding bad habbits. If one ever gets used to one way to 
operate something, it takes effort to switch to another way.

Compare:

Position cursor over desired option, click
vs
Position cursor over current option, press and hold mouse button, move 
cursor to desired option, release mouse button