Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sat 16th Aug 2008 16:50 UTC
This is the eighth article in a series on common usability and graphical user interface related terms [part I | part II | part III | part IV | part V | part VI | part VII]. On the internet, and especially in forum discussions like we all have here on OSNews, it is almost certain that in any given discussion, someone will most likely bring up usability and GUI related terms - things like spatial memory, widgets, consistency, Fitts' Law, and more. The aim of this series is to explain these terms, learn something about their origins, and finally rate their importance in the field of usability and (graphical) user interface design. In part VIII, we focus on the tab.
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Member since:2006-10-08
For my own usage patterns at least, I find it fairly helpful to have a global app-switching mechanism that lets you select individual apps, then a local/app-specific mechanism that lets you select documents within those apps.
An additional fact worth mentioning is that different applications tend to handle tabbing control differently (different locations, different behaviour to mouse clicks and different key bindings). While you are usually familiar with how your favourite window manager changes content globally, you mostly need to have a look at which application is running at the moment and how to change its content through tabbing.
There is a fairly simple, logical explanation: people are willing to put up with a bit of extra complexity if there's a significant added benefit.
Oh yes? :-)
Member since:2005-07-06
"For my own usage patterns at least, I find it fairly helpful to have a global app-switching mechanism that lets you select individual apps, then a local/app-specific mechanism that lets you select documents within those apps.
An additional fact worth mentioning is that different applications tend to handle tabbing control differently (different locations, different behaviour to mouse clicks and different key bindings). While you are usually familiar with how your favourite window manager changes content globally, you mostly need to have a look at which application is running at the moment and how to change its content through tabbing. "
By and large I've found that the keyboard shortcuts are usually consistent, at least. On my Windows box, I currently have 4 apps open that use either a tabbed UI or MDI with an internal taskbar (Firefox, MySQL-Front, EditPlus, and "Microsoft SQL Management Studio Express"). In all of them, Ctrl-Tab (or Ctrl-Shift-Tab) works for switching between document windows.
Ideally, I would prefer SDI in combination with floating palette that lists the child windows & lets you switch between them. But I've never seen that outside of some old NeXT apps and an old BeOS tool called "Active App".
"There is a fairly simple, logical explanation: people are willing to put up with a bit of extra complexity if there's a significant added benefit.
Oh yes? :-) "
Ya rly. Srsly.
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Member since:
2005-07-06
IMO that point illustrates that neither UI convention is going to be ideal for every situation (rather than indicating a deficiency of tabbed interfaces).
Taskbars, in my experience, have a "threshold of usefulness" - it doesn't take long (for me, at least) reach the point where it takes a prohibitively long time to find & select a particular window or application using a global taskbar. E.g., I have over 50 tabs open in Firefox at the moment - it would be nightmarish to try manage those as separate windows via the taskbar (or something like Expose).
(Emphasis: mine)
That can be a benefit in many instances - it makes sense if you think of it within the context of operating globally vs operating locally. For my own usage patterns at least, I find it fairly helpful to have a global app-switching mechanism that lets you select individual apps, then a local/app-specific mechanism that lets you select documents within those apps.
It should also be kept in mind that tabbed interfaces are usually optional. E.g., I know people who have been using Firefox for 2 or 3 years but have never used tabbed-browsing (if they even know it's available). IMO, tabbed interfaces are one of those rare features that can provide real benefit to more advanced users (and/or those of us seriously afflicted with Nerd Attention Deficit Disorder), without burdening more casual users with extra complexity.
Sometimes, logic simply doesn't prevail.
There is a fairly simple, logical explanation: people are willing to put up with a bit of extra complexity if there's a significant added benefit.
Edited 2008-08-16 19:12 UTC