Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines (Apple Technical Library)

418 Pages·1993·35.87 MB·English

by  Apple Computer Inc.

Macintosh Human
Interface Guidelines
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Contents
Figures and Tables xiii
About This Book
Preface xxi
Who Should Read This Book xxi
What's New in Macintosh Human Interface From Apple xxii
About Making It Macintosh xxii
What's in This Book xxii
The Basic Philosophy xxii
The Interface Elements xxiii
Appendixes xxiii
Visual Cues Used in This Book xxiii
Fundamentals
Part 1
Human Interface selpicnirP
Chapter 1 3
The Human Interface Design Principles 4
Metaphors 4
Direct Manipulation 5
See-and-Point 7
Consistency 7
WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)
User Control 9
Feedback and Dialog 9
Forgiveness 01
Perceived Stability 11
Aesthetic Integrity 11
Modelessness 21
Additional Issues to Consider 31
Knowledge of Your Audience 31
Accessibility 41
General Design Considerations
Chapter 2 51
Worldwide Compatibility 61
Cultural Values 71
Resources 71
iii
Language Differences 81
Text Display and Text Editing 91
Default Alignment of Interface Elements 02
Keyboards 22
Fonts 32
Universal Access 42
People With a Physical Disability 52
People With a Visual Disability 52
People With a Hearing Disability 62
People With a Speech or Language Disability 72
People With a Seizure Disorder 27
Collaborative Computing 27
Concern for Other Users 82
User Identification 82
Access Privileges 82
Passwords 92
Data Encrypfion for Security 03
Clear Communications 03
Displaying the Current State of Data 30
Communicating With Other Environments 13
Network Transparency 13
Human Interface Design and the
Development Process 33
Chapter 3
Design Decisions 43
Features Inspired by Market Pressures 43
Feature Cascade 53
The 08 Percent Solution 53
Managing Complexity 53
Using Progressive Disclosure 53
Implementing Preferences 37
Extending the Interface 83
When to Go Beyond the Guidelines 38 '
Build on the Existing Interface 93
Don't Assign New Behaviors to Existing Objects 93
Create a New Interface Element Cautiously 04
Involving Users in the Design Process 14
Define Your Audience 14
Analyze Tasks 14
Build Prototypes 42
Observe Users 24
neT Steps for Conducting a User Observation 34
iv
Part 2 The Interface Elements 47
Chapter 4 Menus 49
The Menu Bar 52
Menu Behavior 55
Menu Elements 58
Menu Item Names 58
Grouping Items in Menus 60
Menu Dividers 62
Standard Characters and Text Style in Menus 64
Checkmarks and Dashes in Menus 64
The Ellipsis Character in Menus 67
A Diamond Mark in the Application Menu 17
Avoid Nonstandard Marks in Menus 72
Text Styles in Menus 73
Toggled Menu Items 75
Scrolling Menus 87
Hierarchical Menus 79
Pop-Up Menus 82
Standard Pop-Up Menus 87
Type-In Pop-Up Menus 19
Tear-Off Menus and Palettes 92
Tear-Off Menus 93
Palettes 96
Standard Macintosh Menus 98
The Apple Menu 98
About 98
File Menu 99
New 99
Open 101
Close 102
Save 104
Save As 106
Revert 107
Page Setup... 108
Print... 108
Quit 109
The Edit Menu 109
The Clipboard 111
Undo/Redo 311
Cut 411
Copy 511
Paste 511
Clear 711
Select All 711
Show Clipboard/Hide Clipboard 711
Create Publisher... 711
Subscribe To... 811
Publisher/Subscriber Options... 811
The Font Menu 021
The Size Menu 221
The Style Menu 421
The Help Menu 521
The Keyboard Menu 521
The Application Menu 721
Keyboard Equivalents 821
Chapter 5 Windows 131
Window Appearance 431
Document Window Controls 431
Use of Color in Windows 531
Utility Windows 731
Window Behaviors 931
The Active Window 931
Opening Windows 141
Window Display Order 341
Window Positions 641
The Default Position on a Single Screen 741
The Default Position on Multiple Screens 841
Dialog Box and Alert Box Positions 051
Closing a Window 251
Moving a Window 451
Changing the Size of a Window 651
Scrolling a Window 851
Scroll Bars 851
Scrolling With the Scroll Arrows 361
Scrolling With the Gray Area 461
Scrolling by Dragging the Scroll Box 461
Automatic Scrolling 661
The Zoom Box and Window Behavior 168
Splitting a Window 071
Window Pane Behavior 271
One Split per Orientation 371
vi
retpahC 6 Dialog Boxes 175
Modeless Dialog Boxes 871
Modeless Dialog xoB Appearance 971
Modeless Dialog xoB Behaviors 181
Menu Bar Access 181
Accepting Changes in a Modeless Dialog xoB 281
Completing Commands 481
Movable Modal Dialog Boxes 581
Movable Modal Dialog xoB Appearance 681
Movable Modal Dialog xoB Behaviors 781
Menu Bar Access 781
Modal Dialog Boxes 881
Modal Dialog xoB Appearance 091
Modal Dialog xoB Behaviors 191
Menu Bar Access 191
Stacking Modal Dialog Boxes 291
Alert Boxes 391
Alert xoB Appearance 491
Note Alert Boxes 491
Caution Alert Boxes 591
Stop Alert Boxes 691
Basic Dialog xoB Layout 691
Keyboard Navigation in Dialog Boxes 891
Dialog xoB Messages 991
Standard File Dialog Boxes 002
Save Changes Alert xoB 102
retpahC 7 Controls 302
Standard Toolbox Controls 402
Buttons 402
Button Behavior 502
Button Names 602
Radio Buttons 012
Checkboxes 112
Controls Not Supported by the Macintosh Toolbox 412
Sliders 412
Little Arrows 612
Outline Triangles 812
Other Elements for User Interaction 812
Text Entry Fields 912
Scrolling Lists 022
vii
retpahC 8 snocI 223
Why Icons Work 224
Limitations of Icons 227
Designing Effective Icons 229
Use Appropriate Metaphors 229
Think About Worldwide Compatibility 230
Avoid Text in Icons 230
Design for the Macintosh Display 132
Use a Consistent Light Source 232
Optimize for Your Target Display 232
Maintain a Consistent Visual Appearance in an
Icon Family 233
Use Icon Elements Consistently 332
The Finder Icon Family 234
An Icon Design Process 236
Black-and-White Icons 238
Color Icons 238
Icon Colors 240
• The Apple Icon Color Set 240
Degradation of the Color Set Across Monitors 142
Selection Mechanism for Color Icons 142
Color Labeling Mechanism for Color Icons 242
Anti-Aliasing 243
Small Icons 244
Default and Custom Icons 245
Application Icons 246
Document Icons 247
Stationery Pad Icons 248
Query Document Icons 249
Edition Icons 250
Preferences Icons 250
Extension Icons 250
Control Panel Icons 152
Movable Resource Icons 252
Keyboard Icons 252
retpahC 9 Color 257
Color Design of Standard Interface Elements 258
Windows and Dialog Boxes 258
Menus 260
Pointers 260
Highlighting and Selection 260
viii
Color Application Guidelines 162
Match Complexity to the Level of User 162
Design for the Macintosh 262
Design for Black and White First 362
Limit the Number of Colors 462
Colors on Gray 562
Beware of Blue 562
Small Objects 562
Color for Categorizing Information 562
Chapter 01 Behaviors 267
The Pointing Device 862
Mouse Actions 172
Clicking 172
Double-Clicking 272
Pressing 372
Dragging 472
The Keyboard 572
Character Keys 572
Enter 572
Tab 672
Return 672
Delete (or Backspace) 772
Clear 772
Escape 772
Modifier Keys 872
Shift 872
Caps Lock 972
Option 972
Command 082
Control 082
Type-Ahead and Auto-Repeat 082
International Keyboards 182
Arrow Keys 182
Appropriate Uses for the Arrow Keys 182
Moving the Insertion Point 282
Moving the Insertion Point in Empty Documents 282
Using Modifier Keys With Arrow Keys 282
Function Keys 482
Help 582
Forward Delete (Del) 582
Home 582
End 582
Page Up 682
Page Down 682
ix