UI concerns
I’ve come to a shocking realization; I HATE for an application to pop-up dialog windows.
This is probably due to the fact that I dislike removing my hands from the home-row of keys on my keyboard. I can type much, much faster than I can mouse around to focus the appropriate buttons on a dialog window. Actually, most times, pop-up dialogs are notifications that tell you something about the application you’re running; “I can’t find the file!”, “Your input is crappy!”, “The network appears to have sublimed!”
Isn’t this what the statusbar at the bottom of most apps supposed to be used for?
This presents us with a serious problem: Should the user *truly* need to click a control to respond to a pop-up dialog, where near that elusive statusbar would buttons be displayed for clicking?
I propose we create a slice of the screen for displaying status information and presenting the user with the appropriate controls to respond to these show-stopping problems. Really, how much screen real estate needs to be given up for a set of buttons asking “Yes”, “No”, and “Cancel”? Not much, I think. I’m beginning work on a program that I hope to make an example of this paradigm. Stay tuned…
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