Sjoerd Visscher wrote:
>
> > Not at all. You don't Edit the Preferences simply by opening the
> > window. You have to manipulate the controls in the Preferences
> > dialog in order to change any of the preferences (and since the
> > window is modal, you need to click the `Ok' button too). More input
> > is required, therefore an ellipsis is necessary in the menu item.
>
> I don't agree. Each menuitem describes something a user would want to
> do. If the user can start doing that right away, you don't need an
> ellipsis. So Edit Preferences or View Preferences don't need an
> ellipsis because the user can start editing or viewing the preferences
> right away.
>...
Sorry, but the UI guidelines of Apple and Microsoft both disagree with
you. They both talk about carrying out a command, not `starting' to
carry out a command.
By your logic, the `Print' command in the `File' menu would not have an
ellipsis (because it doesn't start the printing, it just brings up a
dialog), but the `Print' button in the print dialog itself *would* have
an ellipsis (because it does start the printing). Obviously, neither of
these are the case.
> Change Preferences however should have an ellipsis because
> the user cannot start changing the preferences. Only after he clicks
> OK preferences will be changed.
>...
If you ask users what they're doing when they're manipulating the
controls in the Preferences dialog, they'll tell you that they're
changing the preferences. If you try to tell them that they're not,
they'll think you've gone bananas.
The mechanics of changes to the preferences file being committed when
the user clicks `Ok' are of no interest to the user -- as far as se is
concerned, we might just as well be making constant changes to the file
as the user manipulates the controls in the Preferences dialog, and
rolling back these changes if the user clicks `Cancel' (rather than just
storing changes to the preferences file, to be committed if the user
clicks `Ok' and later quits Mozilla without crashing).
--
Matthew `mpt' Thomas, Mozilla user interface QA
Mozilla UI decisions within 48 hours, or the next one is free
