IRIX® Interactive Desktop User Interface Guidelines
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IRIX® Interactive Desktop User Interface Guidelines Document Number 007-2167-005 CONTRIBUTORS Written by Jackie Neider, Deb Galdes, and Wendy Ferguson Part III by Renate Kempf, Deb Galdes, and Mike Mohageg Updated by Max Anderson Illustrated by Dany Galgani, Delle Maxwell, and Doug O’Morain Production by Kirsten Pekarek Principal architects of the IRIX Interactive Desktop Style: Deb Galdes, Delle Maxwell, Mike Mohageg, Michael Portuesi, Rob Myers, and Betsy Zeller. Principal architects of the 3D Style: Rikk Carey, Deb Galdes, Paul Isaacs, Mike Mohageg, and Rob Myers. Special thanks to Donna Davilla, Debbie Myers, Peter Sullivan, and Dave Ciemiewicz. St. Peter’s Basilica image courtesy of ENEL SpA and InfoByte SpA. Disk Thrower image courtesy of Xavier Berenguer, Animatica. © Copyright 1998, Silicon Graphics, Inc.— All Rights Reserved This document contains proprietary and confidential information of Silicon Graphics, Inc. The contents of this document may not be disclosed to third parties, copied, or duplicated in any form, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of Silicon Graphics, Inc. RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGEND Use, duplication, or disclosure of the technical data contained in this document by the Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subdivision (c) (1) (ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 52.227-7013 and/or in similar or successor clauses in the FAR, or in the DOD or NASA FAR Supplement. Unpublished rights reserved under the Copyright Laws of the United States. Contractor/manufacturer is Silicon Graphics, Inc., 2011 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View, CA 94043-1389. Silicon Graphics, the Silicon Graphics logo, IRIS, and IRIX are registered trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc. IRIX, IconSmith, InPerson, IRIS IM, IRIS InSight, and IRIS Showcase are trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc. MediaMail is a trademark of Z-Code Software Corp. Motif and OSF/Motif are trademarks of the Open Systems Foundation. PostScript is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company, Ltd. X Window System is a trademark of the Massachusets Institute of Technology. IRIX® Interactive Desktop User Interface Guidelines Document Number 007-2167-005 Contents List of Figures xv List of Tables xix About This Guide xxi What This Guide Contains xxii Part One: Integrating With the IRIX Interactive Desktop xxii Part Two: Interface Components xxiii Part Three: Designing 3D Applications xxiv Appendix xxiv What You Should Know Before Reading This Guide xxiv Suggestions for Further Reading xxv Conventions Used in This Guide xxvi Style Guidelines xxvi Font Conventions xxvii PART I Integrating With the IRIX Interactive Desktop 1. Overview of the IRIX Interactive Desktop 3 Overview of the Desktop 4 How Users Interact With Desktop Icons 6 Mouse and Keyboard Hardware 9 iii Contents 2. Icons 11 Designing the Appearance of Icons 12 General Icon Design: Components, Size, and Colors 14 Application Icon Design 22 File Icon Design 24 Icon Appearance Design Guidelines 26 Defining the Behavior of Icons With FTRs 27 User and Icon Interaction 28 Icon Behavior Guidelines 29 Making Application Icons Accessible 30 Putting Icons Into the Icon Catalog 30 Naming and Locating Executables for the Find an Icon Tool 31 Application Icon Accessibility Guidelines 33 3. Windows in the IRIX Interactive Desktop Environment 35 The IRIX Interactive Desktop Look: Graphic Features and Schemes 36 Enhanced Graphics in the IRIX Interactive Desktop Look 36 Schemes for Colors and Fonts 39 IRIX Interactive Desktop Look Guidelines 40 Application Window Categories and Characteristics 41 Application Window Categories 41 Application Models 42 Window Decorations and the Window Menu 43 Window Title Bar 46 Window Size 49 Window Placement 51 Application Window Characteristic Guidelines 52 Keyboard Focus Across Windows 55 Single-Action Pointer Grab Model 56 Multiple-Action Pointer Grab Model 58 Guidelines for Keyboard Focus Across Windows 59 iv Contents Minimized Windows 60 Choosing an Image for Your Minimized Window 60 Labeling a Minimized Window 63 Processing While Minimized 64 Using the Minimized Window to Show Status 64 Minimized Window Guidelines 64 Desks 66 Desks Guidelines 67 Session Management 67 Session Management Guidelines 71 4. IRIX Interactive Desktop Services 73 Software Installation 74 Software Installation Guideline 75 Online Help 76 Providing Help Using SGIHelp 76 Types of Online Help 77 Providing Help through a Help Menu 82 Providing Help Through a Help Button 83 Guidelines for Designing Online Help 85 Writing Online Help Content for SGIHelp 87 Guidelines for Creating SGIHelp Content 90 Online Documentation 92 Desktop Variables 93 Scheme Setting 93 Auto Window Placement Setting 93 Language Setting 94 Mouse Double-Click Speed Setting 95 Editor Preference Setting 96 Desktop Variables Guidelines 98 File Alteration Monitor (FAM) 99 File Monitoring Guideline 99 v Contents 5. Data Exchange on the IRIX Interactive Desktop 101 Supporting the Clipboard Transfer Model 102 Supporting the Primary Transfer Model 104 Data Types Supported for Inter-Application Transfer 108 Data Exchange Guidelines 109 PART II Interface Components 6. Application Windows 113 Application Models 114 Window Types 114 Standard Application Models 115 Application Model Guidelines 119 Main and Co-Primary Windows 120 Menu Bars in Primary Windows 122 Scrollable Work Areas in Primary Windows 123 Control Areas in Primary Windows 123 Status Areas in Primary Windows 124 Splitting Primary Windows Into Panes 125 Popup Menus in Primary Windows 125 Primary Window Guidelines 125 Support Windows 127 General Support Window Design 127 A Specific Standard Support Window: The IRIX Interactive Desktop Color Chooser 129 Support Window Guidelines 131 Pointer Behavior in a Window 132 Pointer Behavior Guidelines 132 7. Focus, Selection, and Drag and Drop 133 Keyboard Focus and Navigation 133 Keyboard Focus Policy and Navigation Within a Window 134 Keyboard Focus and Navigation Guidelines 138 vi Contents Selection 139 Selection Models—What Can Be Selected and How To Select It 139 Highlighting a Selection 142 Multiple Collections in One Application Window 142 Selection Guidelines 143 Drag and Drop 144 Two Models of Drag and Drop 144 Pointers for Drag Operations 147 Drag and Drop Guidelines 147 8. Menus 149 Types of Menus 149 Pull Down Menus 150 Popup Menus 151 Option Menus 151 Menu Traversal and Activation 152 Using the Mouse to Manipulate Menus 153 Using the Keyboard to Manipulate Menus 154 Menu Traversal and Activation Guidelines 154 The Menu Bar and Pull-Down Menus 155 Standard Menus 157 What to Put in the Pull-Down Menus 165 Choosing Mnemonics 171 Choosing Keyboard Accelerators 171 Disabling Menu Entries 173 Dynamic Menu Entries 174 Pull-Down Menu Guidelines 174 Popup Menus 177 What to Put in Popup Menus 178 Disabling Popup Menu Entries 179 Popup Menu Guidelines 179 vii Contents 9. Controls 181 Pushbuttons 182 Pushbutton Guidelines 182 Option Buttons 184 Option Button Guidelines 184 Checkboxes 186 Checkbox Guidelines 186 Radio Buttons 187 Radio Button Guidelines 188 LED Indicators 189 LED Button Guidelines 189 Lists 190 List Guidelines 191 Text Fields 192 Text Field Guidelines 193 Scrollbars 194 Scrollbar Guidelines 195 IRIX Interactive Desktop Scales 196 IRIX Interactive Desktop Scale Guidelines 197 Labels 198 Label Guidelines 198 File Finder 199 File Finder Guidelines 199 Thumbwheels 200 Thumbwheel Guidelines 200 Dials 201 Dial Guidelines 201 10. Dialogs 203 Types and Modes of Dialogs 203 Dialog Modes 207 Guidelines for Using the Various Types and Modes of Dialogs 208 viii Contents Designing Dialogs 209 Decorations, Initial State, and Layout of Dialogs 209 Standard Dialog Actions 211 Content of Specific Types of Dialogs 214 Guidelines for Designing Dialogs 216 Invoking Dialogs 218 Invoking Dialogs When Manipulating Files 219 Other Situations for Invoking Dialogs 221 Guidelines for Invoking Dialogs 221 11. User Feedback 223 Types of Feedback 223 Providing Graphic Feedback 224 Keeping Information Up to Date 224 Providing Messages to the User 225 General User Feedback Guidelines 226 Pointer Shapes and Colors 226 Standard Pointer Shapes and Colors 226 Designing New Pointer Shapes 228 Pointer Shapes and Colors Guidelines 229 PART III 3D Style Guidelines 12. Introduction to 3D Style Guidelines 233 Making 3D Functionality Available 234 Designing Mouse Input for 3D Applications 234 Using Modifier Keys in 3D Applications 235 Basic 3D Interface Design Guidelines 236 Pointer Shapes for 3D Functions 236 Pointer Feedback Guidelines for 3D Applications 238 Resizing the 3D Viewing Window 238 Guidelines for Resizing Windows in 3D Applications 238 ix Contents 13. Interactive Viewing of 3D Objects 239 Introduction to 3D Viewing 240 3D Viewing Functions 241 Inspection Functions for 3D Viewing 243 Navigation Functions for 3D Viewing 251 Guidelines for 3D Viewing Functions 257 3D Viewing Interface Trade-Offs 259 Viewing and Editing in 3D Applications 259 Single-Viewport and Multi-Viewport Viewing in 3D Applications 262 3D Viewing Performance and Scene Fidelity 263 3D Viewing Trade-Offs and Related Guidelines 265 14. Selection in 3D Applications 267 3D Selection Concepts and Models 267 The Object-Action Paradigm in 3D Applications 268 Direct Selection in 3D Applications 268 Indirect Selection in 3D Applications 269 3D Selection Models 270 Selection in Hierarchies of Objects 271 3D Selection