Indigo Magic™ User Interface Guidelines Document Number 007-2167-003 CONTRIBUTORS Written by Jackie Neider, Deb Galdes, and Wendy Ferguson. Part III by Renate Kempf, Deb Galdes, and Mike Mohageg. Illustrated by Dany Galgani, Delle Maxwell, and Doug O’Morain Edited by Christina Cary Production by Cindy Stief Principal architects of the Indigo Magic 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 © Copyright 1996, 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 Unpublished rights reserved under the Copyright Laws of the United States.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 and IRIS are registered trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc. IRIX, IconSmith, Indigo Magic, InPerson, IRIS IM, IRIS InSight, and IRIS Showcase are trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company, Ltd. Motif and OSF/Motif are trademarks of the Open Systems Foundation. MediaMail is a trademark of Z-Code Software Corp. PostScript is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. X Window System is a trademark of the Massachusets Institute of Technology. Indigo Magic™ User Interface Guidelines Document Number 007-2167-003 Contents List of Figures xv List of Tables xix About This Guide xxi What This Guide Contains xxii Part One: Integrating With the Indigo Magic Desktop xxii Part Two: Interface Components xxiii Part Three: Designing 3D Applications xxiii Appendix xxiv What You Should Know Before Reading This Guide xxiv Suggestions for Further Reading xxiv Conventions Used in This Guide xxvi Style Guidelines xxvi Font Conventions xxvi PART I Integrating With the Indigo Magic Desktop 1. Overview of the Indigo Magic Desktop 3 Overview of the Desktop 3 How Users Interact With Desktop Icons 6 Mouse and Keyboard Hardware 8 2. Icons 11 Designing the Appearance of Icons 11 General Icon Design: Components, Size, and Colors 13 Application Icon Design 22 File Icon Design 24 Icon Appearance Design Guidelines 26 iii Contents Defining the Behavior of Icons With FTRs 27 User and Icon Interaction 27 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 Indigo Magic Environment 35 The Indigo Magic Look: Graphic Features and Schemes 36 Enhanced Graphics in the Indigo Magic Look 36 Schemes for Colors and Fonts 39 Indigo Magic Look Guidelines 40 Application Window Categories and Characteristics 40 Application Window Categories 41 Application Models 41 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 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 65 Desks 66 Desks Guidelines 68 iv Contents Session Management 68 Session Management Guidelines 70 4. Indigo Magic Desktop Services 73 Software Installation 73 Software Installation Guideline 75 Online Help 75 Providing Help Using SGIHelp 75 Types of Online Help 76 Providing Help through a Help Menu 80 Providing Help Through a Help Button 82 Guidelines for Designing Online Help 83 Writing Online Help Content for SGIHelp 85 Guidelines for Creating SGIHelp Content 89 Online Documentation 91 Desktop Variables 91 Scheme Setting 92 Auto Window Placement Setting 92 Language Setting 92 Mouse Double-Click Speed Setting 93 Editor Preference Setting 94 Desktop Variables Guidelines 97 File Alteration Monitor (FAM) 97 File Monitoring Guideline 98 5. Data Exchange on the Indigo Magic Desktop 99 Supporting the Clipboard Transfer Model 99 Supporting the Primary Transfer Model 101 Data Types Supported for Inter-Application Transfer 105 Data Exchange Guidelines 106 v Contents PART II Interface Components 6. Application Windows 111 Application Models 111 Window Types 112 Standard Application Models 113 Application Model Guidelines 118 Main and Co-Primary Windows 119 Menu Bars in Primary Windows 121 Scrollable Work Areas in Primary Windows 122 Control Areas in Primary Windows 122 Status Areas in Primary Windows 123 Splitting Primary Windows Into Panes 124 Popup Menus in Primary Windows 124 Primary Window Guidelines 124 Support Windows 125 General Support Window Design 126 A Specific Standard Support Window: The Indigo Magic Color Chooser 127 Support Window Guidelines 129 Pointer Behavior in a Window 130 Pointer Behavior Guidelines 131 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 139 Selection 139 Selection Models—What Can Be Selected and How To Select It 140 Highlighting a Selection 143 Multiple Collections in One Application Window 143 Selection Guidelines 144 vi Contents Drag and Drop 144 Two Models of Drag and Drop 145 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 166 Choosing Mnemonics 171 Choosing Keyboard Accelerators 172 Disabling Menu Entries 173 Dynamic Menu Entries 174 Pull-Down Menu Guidelines 175 Popup Menus 178 What to Put in Popup Menus 179 Disabling Popup Menu Entries 179 Popup Menu Guidelines 180 9. Controls 183 Pushbuttons 184 Pushbutton Guidelines 184 Option Buttons 185 Option Button Guidelines 186 Checkboxes 187 Checkbox Guidelines 187 vii Contents Radio Buttons 188 Radio Button Guidelines 189 LED Indicators 190 LED Button Guidelines 190 Lists 191 List Guidelines 192 Text Fields 193 Text Field Guidelines 193 Scrollbars 194 Scrollbar Guidelines 195 Indigo Magic Scales 197 Indigo Magic Scale Guidelines 197 Labels 198 Label Guidelines 198 File Finder 199 File Finder Guidelines 200 Thumbwheels 200 Thumbwheel Guidelines 201 Dials 202 Dial Guidelines 202 10. Dialogs 205 Types and Modes of Dialogs 205 Dialog Modes 209 Guidelines for Using the Various Types and Modes of Dialogs 210 Designing Dialogs 210 Decorations, Initial State, and Layout of Dialogs 211 Standard Dialog Actions 213 Content of Specific Types of Dialogs 215 Guidelines for Designing Dialogs 217 Invoking Dialogs 220 Invoking Dialogs When Manipulating Files 220 Other Situations for Invoking Dialogs 223 Guidelines for Invoking Dialogs 223 viii Contents 11. User Feedback 225 Types of Feedback 225 Providing Graphic Feedback 225 Keeping Information Up to Date 226 Providing Messages to the User 227 General User Feedback Guidelines 227 Pointer Shapes and Colors 228 Standard Pointer Shapes and Colors 228 Designing New Pointer Shapes 230 Pointer Shapes and Colors Guidelines 230 PART III 3D Style Guidelines 12. Introduction to 3D Style Guidelines 235 Making 3D Functionality Available 235 Designing Mouse Input for 3D Applications 236 Using Modifier Keys in 3D Applications 236 Basic 3D Interface Design Guidelines 238 Pointer Shapes for 3D Functions 238 Pointer Feedback Guidelines for 3D Applications 239 Resizing the 3D Viewing Window 240 Guidelines for Resizing Windows in 3D Applications 240 13. Interactive Viewing of 3D Objects 241 Introduction to 3D Viewing 241 3D Viewing Functions 243 Inspection Functions for 3D Viewing 244 Navigation Functions for 3D Viewing 254 Guidelines for 3D Viewing Functions 259 3D Viewing Interface Trade-Offs 262 Viewing and Editing in 3D Applications 262 Single-Viewport and Multi-Viewport Viewing in 3D Applications 265 3D Viewing Performance and Scene Fidelity 266 3D Viewing Trade-Offs and Related Guidelines 267 ix Contents 14. Selection in 3D Applications 271 3D Selection Concepts and Models 271 The Object-Action Paradigm in 3D Applications 271 Direct Selection in 3D Applications 272 Indirect Selection in 3D Applications 273 3D Selection Models 273 Selection in Hierarchies of Objects 275 3D Selection Design Guidelines 275 Selection Feedback for 3D Objects 276 Bounding Box Selection Feedback 277 Manipulator Selection Feedback 278 Highlight Selection Feedback 279 3D Selection Feedback Design Guidelines 279 Lead Objects in 3D Applications 280 Lead Object When Selecting Multiple Objects