[Digikam-devel] Fwd: [RFC] Action Map

[Caulier Gilles]

interresing. i will take a look indeep...

Gilles


Le Samedi 20 Mai 2006 10:13 PM, Mikolaj Machowski a écrit :
> Hello,
>
> I am very often lost in IE menus. Maybe some help for users?
>
> m.
>
> ----------  Forwarded message ----------
>
> Subject: [RFC] Action Map
> Date: sobota, 20 maja 2006 16:12
> From: Dominik Seichter <domseichter at web.de>
> To: kde-usability at kde.org
> Cc: Daniel Neuber <Daniel.Neuber at web.de>
>
> Hello,
>
> I added a feature called "Action Map" to my application KBarcode in its
>  CVS today. I think this feature could help to improve the useabillity of
>  all KDE applications.
>
> It would be great if I could get some feedback here, if this is a good
>  idea and if I should continue to work on my proof of concept
>  implementation.
>
> You can find more information, screeshots and the sample implementation
>  which can be used in all KDE applications at:
> http://krename.sourceforge.net/data/actionmap/
>
> What is an Action Map?
> ==============
>
> Almost every web page has a site map. According to Wikipedia, a site map
> "helps visitors, and search engine robots, to find pages on the site".
> Similar an Action Map should help the user to find actions (i.e. functions
>  or menu items) in an application.
>
> More concrete an Action Map is a dialog with a list of all actions (i.e.
>  make text bold, save file or insert image) that can be performed in the
>  application at its current state. Additionally there is a search box at
>  the top of the list so that the user can search the list easily for a
>  special action. The action is executed by clicking on it. Disabled
>  actions are grayed out and cannot be clicked. The dialog is modeless so
>  that it can always be open and the normal usage of the application is not
>  disturbed.
>
> Why do I need an Action Map?
> ==================
>
> Imagine you are using a word processor. You know there is a function to
>  insert a footnote - but you cannot remember where you can find this
>  feature in the large menu. You now go to the Help menu and open the
>  Action Map. Type "footnote" in the searchbox and you will find the
>  footnote feature. You can immediately click on the feature and insert a
>  new footnote.
>
> Additionally an Action Map can be used to browse through all the actions
>  of an application and see which features it does provide.
>
> Action Maps might not be necessary for small applications as well as site
>  maps are not necessary for small webpages. But they are in my opinion a
>  good addition to larger applications with lot's of menu items and
>  function. As the user can get lost easily in large menus. Along with the
>  KHelpCenter and what's this? help Action Maps can help the user to use
>  KDE applications more easily.
>
> Feedback Wanted!
> ===========
>
> I have some questions to the useability experts out there:
>
> - Is an Action Map useful?
> - Does it help the user to find functions in an application?
> - How can the implementation be improved?
> - Would it make sense to add an Action Map feature to KDE 4?
>
> Please send me your comments. If it is useful I will continue to improve
>  the current implementation and port it to KDE 4.
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> best regards,
> 	Dom
> --
> **********************************************************************
> Dominik Seichter - domseichter at web.de
> KRename  - http://www.krename.net  - Powerful batch renamer for KDE
> KBarcode - http://www.kbarcode.net - Barcode and label printing
> SchafKopf - http://schafkopf.berlios.de - Schafkopf, a card game,  for KDE
> Alan - http://alan.sf.net - A Turing Machine in Java
> **********************************************************************
>
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
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