S
Steve
Excerpts from a John Dvorak column in PC Magazine -
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1307416,00.asp
Microsoft really should reconsider its horrid "drill-down" concept.
This is the process whereby you click through a series of screens to a
point where you can fix a problem or change a simple setting. This is
nothing more than playing hide-and-seek with users. And worse, because
of the series of drill-down clicks needed to make a simple change,
users often can't recall the exact sequence and must click over and
over, hoping to find something recognizable.
We need an approach in which everything is all on one big page. And we
should be able to load and save the page as a file, so any series of
complex settings can be recalled.
The entire drill-down concept, I believe, stems from Microsoft's
deep-seated inability to think for itself. If Apple is doing
something, then Microsoft copies the idea.
Apple's dialog boxes were designed to look cool, and the first time I
saw a tabbed dialog box, I thought it was kind of a neat idea. But all
it does is hide information. I think the original concept was designed
to save screen real estate. These days, though, most people have
1,280-by-1,024 displays. Unless you are using a handheld device,
exactly what is the point?
Sometimes tabbed dialog boxes are necessary - as in Microsoft Word,
which has so many options that having them all on one form would be
confusing. But even in such situations, Microsoft does the job poorly
by stacking the tabs in a confusing manner. Instead of just a line of
tabs, there are two or three rows. And when you click on a tab, it's
difficult to remember what you clicked on previously. When you are
looking for something, you spend a lot of time clicking on tabs you've
already been through. A bigger page with a single long line of tabs
would be easier to work with.
Seldom-used features should be on top of the pile so they can be found
when they are needed. Going to a large form instead of tabbed dialog
boxes is the best solution and the most practical improvement
Microsoft can make in the next version of its OS.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1307416,00.asp
Microsoft really should reconsider its horrid "drill-down" concept.
This is the process whereby you click through a series of screens to a
point where you can fix a problem or change a simple setting. This is
nothing more than playing hide-and-seek with users. And worse, because
of the series of drill-down clicks needed to make a simple change,
users often can't recall the exact sequence and must click over and
over, hoping to find something recognizable.
We need an approach in which everything is all on one big page. And we
should be able to load and save the page as a file, so any series of
complex settings can be recalled.
The entire drill-down concept, I believe, stems from Microsoft's
deep-seated inability to think for itself. If Apple is doing
something, then Microsoft copies the idea.
Apple's dialog boxes were designed to look cool, and the first time I
saw a tabbed dialog box, I thought it was kind of a neat idea. But all
it does is hide information. I think the original concept was designed
to save screen real estate. These days, though, most people have
1,280-by-1,024 displays. Unless you are using a handheld device,
exactly what is the point?
Sometimes tabbed dialog boxes are necessary - as in Microsoft Word,
which has so many options that having them all on one form would be
confusing. But even in such situations, Microsoft does the job poorly
by stacking the tabs in a confusing manner. Instead of just a line of
tabs, there are two or three rows. And when you click on a tab, it's
difficult to remember what you clicked on previously. When you are
looking for something, you spend a lot of time clicking on tabs you've
already been through. A bigger page with a single long line of tabs
would be easier to work with.
Seldom-used features should be on top of the pile so they can be found
when they are needed. Going to a large form instead of tabbed dialog
boxes is the best solution and the most practical improvement
Microsoft can make in the next version of its OS.