Paul Steven wrote: > Out of interest, do you think the user should be able to tab between each > "square" on the crossword?
That's one way of doing it, and probably just fine. It's not the way I would implement it--not that you're wrong, but here's what I have done, just to throw out a few ideas. I see that you recognize that you need to know whether you're in "across" or "down" mode. My crosswords pretty much automatically decide that--you start, by default, in across mode, with the cursor in the 1st square of 1 across. Tab takes you to the first square of the next across. If you type in a letter, the cursor automatically advances to the next square. It helps if you do crosswords yourself, which I do (I'm not very good at them, but I do them). I often have an idea for what a word should be, but before I fill it in, I check the clues for the "down" words intersecting my current "across" word. I'll often see a word I *know* is right, and fill that out before going back to the across mode (my default mode, on paper or on the computer). So, I like your idea of using a key to change modes. I would use Clicking on a cue to auto-select the mode, too, as well as you choice of selecting the word. Basically, as long as your interface is consistent and logical (yours looks good), it's fine. If you can do user testing, that will go a long ways towards telling you how good your interface is. I would also have a pop-up help screen with all the options, or even have them on-screen, depending on the real estate you have. You might, though it's not mentioned in your interface summary. > A-Z: Enter the typed letter into the square > Space bar: Change between Across and Down > Del: Clear the selected square > Backspace: Clear the selected square (or previous if square is empty) > Arrow keys: Select the neighbouring square > Tab: Select the next word > Shift+Tab: Select the previous word > Home: Select the 1st square in the selected word > End: Select the last square in the selected word > > Click on an unselected square: Select the square clicked on > Click on the selected square: Change between Across and Down > Click on a clue: Select the corresponding word All in all, it looks good, Paul. You're on the right track. Cordially, Kerry Thompson _______________________________________________ Flashcoders mailing list Flashcoders@chattyfig.figleaf.com http://chattyfig.figleaf.com/mailman/listinfo/flashcoders
