Subject: Re: POW user suggestion/FAQ--why the MSDI interface
From: Scott Bingman (mrphido@prodigy.net)
Date: Sat Aug 18 2001 - 11:47:12 CDT
I've been a while trying to figure out how to say this, but I'm with
Tim. No matter how many different documents you have open the question
is what happens when you get down to that last document.
Now, up to this point the user has used File->Close to close single
documents and File->Exit to close all documents and exit the program.
He is not suprised when File->Close closes the single document, so
there is no warning. Yet if he were to File->Exit, there are multiple
windows open and he would be caught by suprise if they were all gone, so
there is a warning. When he gets to that last document. he expects
File->Exit to close the program. Why is it he should also suddenly
expect File->Close to close his last document and the program as well.
Yet when he does close that last window, Close and Exit act exactly the
same, whamo! all gone.
It has been suggested that the user would be suprised by the opening of
a new, blank document when he closes the last document. Yet practice has
shown that the suprise comes when there is *not* another instance of Abi
available on File->Close. He is on his last document, and he wants to
*Close* his document, *not Exit* AbiWord. So what sould be wrong with
Abi opening another document for him. He can then use that blank to
open an existing document, or begin a new one, just as if he were
starting from scratch.
It has also been suggested that it is "extremely bad UI practice" to put
another warning dialog in. We are talking about a warning on the last
open document if the user uses File->Close instead of File->Exit. At
this point he is on his last document, and he expects File->Exit to
close the entire program. However, he expects File->Close to close just
that document. Currently he gets exactly the opposite behavior, he loses
the entire program! So what is wrong with a warning at this point?
I think the choice is really one of these two, and it is not
unreasonable to believe the user would want another document opened for
him, or if not, a warning that this action will *not* just close that
doc, but *will *exit the whole business.
The user shouldn't have to work for it either. He shouldn't have to
remember to open another document before he closes his last doc. He
doesn't have to in any other word processor. He also shouldn't have to
find some new, unfamilliar, Close & Open or Close & New command. He
shouln't have to wonder why Close has suddenly disappeared from his menu
options.
Bottom line
__________
Give the user what he naturally expects, and what he has been trained by
multiple word processor interfaces to expect, that is, a ready way to
get back into working on another document when he closes his last
document, because if he wanted to exit, he would have exited.
Scott Bingman
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b25 : Sat Aug 18 2001 - 22:03:24 CDT