Circa 2001-Jul-25 21:26:14 -0400 dixit Gregory J. Barlow:
: Putting a close button on a menu titlebar is not a consistent way to close
: the menu; window menus do not have titlebars. Right clicking on a menu to
: close it can also be done at any stage, whether the menu is torn or not.
If window menus don't have titlebars, then they can't be torn off.
Your point is moot. Half the purpose of the close button would be to serve
as an indication that the menu is torn off (the other half is to
provide a method for the non-expert user to close the menu).
: If you bothered to look, torn off menus _are_ inaccessible from
: parent menus. I would prefer that they be accessible, but my point
: was centered around the current state of affairs.
Ahem. Believe me, i have "bothered". The status quo isn't necessarily
the optimal state of affairs.
: By the way, you seem to have a fairly definitive idea of good/bad
: design.
Yes. If you don't, you might begin reading some of these:
- Donald A. Norman, "The Design of Everyday Things"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385267746/qid=996112292/sr=2-1/104-6888008-6782345
- Alan Cooper, "About Face: The Essentials of User Interface Design"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1568843224/qid=996112428/sr=2-2/104-6888008-6782345
- Alan Cooper, "The Inmates Are Running the Asylum"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0672316498/qid=996112428/sr=2-1/104-6888008-6782345
: You need to realize that you do not define the merit of a design for
: the rest of us.
I don't claim to. Others have already.
: Adding keybinding modifiers to the window manager is problematic, as we
: already know. I don't know the right answer here, though I would prefer
: the simplicity of a left click simply closing all open copies of a submenu
: and opening a new one.
As you say, it's problematic, and should be carefully considered,
probably by Jeff an Brad.
: > There's not really any reason not to open another copy of a torn-off
: > menu when its item is chosen in the parent menu. This could be
: > particularly important for keyboard navigation of menus.
:
: See previous messages re: "this will only add a few kb to blackbox"
Whatever. We're all relying on Jeff and Brad to carefully consider
design decisions.
--
jim knoble | [EMAIL PROTECTED] | http://www.jmknoble.cx/
