Link mania; more on frames and the number of navigation links on a UI

["paul newbold" <newp -at- ncode -dot- co -dot- uk>]

Charlene, I think 4+/-2 is too low for the number of links on screen.  The
actual number is 7 +/-2 which was established back in 1956 (Millar, the
Magic Number 7 +/- 2). Researchers at Microsoft did studies on software
interface/webpage menus
http://www.research.microsoft.com/users/marycz/chi981.htm and found that 16
navigation links worked well on a user interface.


Charlene wrote earlier -
" A few other good reasons to avoid frames:

1. Copyright problems:

2. Lack of space: Framesets can take up valuable screen real estate "above
the fold"

3. Lack of escape:

4. Link mania: there is a tendency to provide a long list of navigational
choices simply because they are in a static position on the screen. Many
designers forget that users get lost quite easily when there are more than 4
+/- 2 navigational choices (chunks) on screen.

Just some things to consider,

Charlene Dewbre"


Paul Newbold
nCode Int
Sheffield
United  Kingdom

***********************************************************************


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Develop HTML-Based Help with Macromedia Dreamweaver 4 ($100 STC Discount)
**WEST COAST LOCATIONS** San Jose (Mar 1-2), San Francisco (Apr 16-17)
http://www.weisner.com/training/dreamweaver_help.htm or 800-646-9989.

Sponsored by DigiPub Solutions Corp, producers of PDF 2001 
Conference East, June 4-5, Baltimore/Washington D.C. area.
http://www.pdfconference.com or toll-free 877/278-2131. 

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.