panels and buttons with menus: how important is the arrow?

[Matt Rogers]

On Thursday 16 March 2006 21:23, Aaron J. Seigo wrote:
> hi all ...
>
> in the panels, buttons that pop open a menu currently show a little arrow
> in their upper left corner. while playing around with some ideas for layout
> and presentation of future panel stuff, i got to wondering how important
> (if at all) these arrows are...
>
> i've modified kicker locally[1] so that the arrow only appears on button
> hover or when the menu associated with the button is showing. the arrow is
> also centered instead of in the upper left corner. the result is a cleaner
> looking panel and icons are allowed to stand on their own much better
> (there is no additional arrow obscuring them) ....
>
> the usability question is this:
>
> how important are the arrows as a cue to people that the button is a menu?

I think the arrows are important. Why? Because they provide a visual cue that 
the button is not a normal button and will behave differently from a normal 
button by displaying a menu.

> do they need to be shown at all times or is on hover/activation good
> enough?
>

I have an opinion on this, but it's just that. I can't back it up with 
anything, so I won't comment.

> [1] patch is attached for those who'd like to try it. i'd supply
> screenshots, but since it requires mouse interaction it really makes sense
> to try it =)

Thanks
--
Matt