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>From: chrish @ CTL.COM.CY (Chris Hulin) @ Internet @ DATAHUB
Date: 04/11/96 09:25:41 AM
Subject: Re: Windows terminology - tabs?
Thanks for all the responses telling me that the tab things are called tabs.
So what do you call the key that lets you move from field to field in Windows?<
I still call it the Tab key. I think if my readers were having trouble
keeping the two uses straight, I might call the on-screen tabs "settings tabs."
Better still would be to refer to a specific tab, e.g., the Margins tab. Or, if
the discussion was task-oriented (rather than overview material), I would use a
screen capture of the dialog box in question, with some "circles and arrows"
type graphics to indicate stuff like "Click here to change margin settings."
<SNIP>
>(The one thing I don't like about tabs is that when you have two rows of
them, and you pick one on the back row, the whole row comes to the front)<
Agreed! That is an extremely confusing element of W95-style applications. If
you're trying to methodically go through the settings, either setting your
preferences or trying to find the setting which is causing a problem, it's
incredibly easy to lose track of which tabs you've checked. Especially ones
with three or four rows of tabs! I think the OS/2 notebook-style tabs -- a
single row of tabs extending sideways from a stack of visible "page" edges --
are easier to follow.
It makes me wonder if people designing these tabbed dialog boxes need to apply
a few lessons that have been learned from designing menus ... if you've got an
enormous menu/rows of tabs, you need to organize the options better and put in
some sub-menus!
David Jones, Technical Writer
David_Jones/KSBEISD -dot- KSBEISD -at- Datahub -dot- com
Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate
DISCLAIMER:
"I do not speak for my employer, my computer, or any other living thing."
