Categories: All - layout - navigation - hierarchy - focus

by Dénes Harmath 5 years ago

428

User Experience Research

The system described outlines a method for navigating digital content using various metaphors and commands. It employs a flexible structure to accommodate different levels of content, with options like tree and box layouts offering distinct ways to interact with data.

User Experience Research

Digital content navigation

Evaluation

Proof-of-concept
Cards
Mockup

Case study

Publish recordings - folder of raw files
Write post
Upload
Master
Booking management - mail that requests it
Attachment with table

Booking site

Response
Research
Computing system
Content navigation system

Prototype

Work
Project 1

Issue 2

Reviewed code

Issue 1

StackOverflow

Eclipse

Running app

Time tracking

System description

Physical metaphor (affordance)
Works well when there are few direct children of any node
Use cases
Goal-oriented user interface

workspace is itself data

hierarchy can be built by opening related contents

Hierarchical content platform

Structural analysis of musical composition

Book

Website

Presentation

Old specification
commands

share subtree

edit

move

new / open

open after

parent is created if target is root

show below

keep focus

open below

close

navigate

keyboard

expand/collapse

entire subtree

n levels

first child

parent

previous

next

direct

change width weight

change height ratio

enter/exit full screen

focus

view

highlight recently visited nodes

history

animation

continuity

Animated transitions

What makes a good transitional interface?

fullscreen?

False

connect link with child

highlight border

siblings of focused

deck

only titles

shelf

only titles on sides

on border

neighbours

subtree

smaller with distance

path to focused

horizontal (~breadcrumb)

variable number

only titles (smaller with distance)

True

content of focused

model

aspect ratio range

maximum: Number

minimum: Number

layout of children

Horizontal/Vertical/Packed

ratio of subtree / content

0 = hide children

weight among siblings

Number

children

list of View

reference to Content

title

String

Environment

full screen

Truth

focused

reference to View

root

View

Alternatives
Box

focus =

pick from deck

open in shelf

all siblings can be visible

bring to top

siblings on border can be visible

zoom

only neighbors can be visible

nesting = hierarchy

open sliding lid = reveal children

Tree

flexible layout

High-level description
Node types

content

content group

displays children embedded, arranged automatically

user-specified title

Screen areas

Main

semantic ZUI

Left side

collapsible

hidable (hidden by default on mobile devices in portrait mode)

tree

Primary inspiration: Notion

Related work

Hierarchical spreadsheet

Optimized for large-scale models

Suitable only for small nodes

SIEUFERD - Direct Manipulation of Queries

Activity-Based Computing

Only one level of hierarchy

Windows 10 Sets

KDE Activities

Giornata

Laevo

Parallel connected pages

Manual rearrangement

Xanadu

Tab tree

Compared content hierarchy is not reflected in layout

No focus

Other forms

Tree with details

Table of contents

Tabs Outliner

Tab Groups

Tree Style Tab

Zoomable treemap

Path to focused is indirect (breadcrumb)

Siblings of focused are often not visible

Tiling window managers

hierarchy is not always clear

Elastic Windows

no focus

Tinderbox

TreeSheets

no lateral navigation

FoamTree

no path to focused

Zoomable treemaps

lateral navigation

labels are not shown

possible

Zoomable user interface

No lateral navigation

Continuous zooming has undesirable configurations (like independent windows)

Content does not fit screen (aspect ratio)

Only for static content (links look different than their target content)

Prezi

Zoomable User Interfaces for the Authoring and Delivery of Slide Presentations

Zoomable User Interfaces: Communicating on a Canvas

Mind map
Properties

Needs navigation-based layout

Examples

Trails

History Tree

Visual History

Debugger Canvas

Code Bubbles

TheBrain

ZoomTree

Hoptrees

ControlTree

SpaceTree

Drawing Trees

SpaceTree.js

Requirements

Lateral navigation
navigation to siblings should be easy
Screen usage efficiency
maximize data-ink ratio
Comparison
showing multiple contents simultaneously should be easy
Focus
avoid distraction
Direct manipulation navigation
continuous feedback
Large nodes
enable any kind of content
Sense of location
always show current location
Clear structure
structure should be clear

Principles

Persistence
always preserve the user’s actions (including navigation)

operation history

previous versions are lost when exiting application or modifying after undo

need to save

modifications after saving are lost when application crashes

session handling

user's workspace is lost when operating system restarts

independent overlapping windows & applications

macOS virtual desktops: current desktop is lost when application is already open in another desktop

user's intent is lost when opening new window

version control systems

Visualization
show related information close to each other (relational-spatial interface)

violations

file-based editing (Eclipse)

can't show two methods simultaneously

selection-based views (Eclipse)

can't show same property of multiple elements

independent overlapping windows (stacking window managers)

overlapping is undesirable, manual positioning is needed

applications

opening a related piece of information in a different application is a huge context switch

slideshow (PowerPoint)

content's structure is invisible

workarounds

two-panel file manager

dockable windows

ad hoc grouping

macOS Split View

transient

only two windows

manual

multiple displays

examples

mind maps

IDEs with inline visualization

Light Table

callouts

guidelines

Spatial Interfaces