Chapter 13: Multiple-Window Strategies

13.1 Introduction

Users need to consult multiple sources rapidly
must minimally disrupt user's task
With large displays, eye-head movement and visibility are problems
With small displays, windows too small to be effective
Need to offer users sufficient information and flexibility to accomplish task, while reducing window housekeeping actions, distracting clutter, eye-head movement
opening, closing, moving, changing size
time spent manipulating windows instead of on task
Can apply direct-manipulation strategy to windows
Rooms - a form of window macro that enables users to specify actions on several windows at once

13.2 Individual-Window Design

Titles
Borders or frames
Scroll bars
Window interface actions include:
Open action
Open place and size
Most recently placement and size approach
Open new window close to current focus to limit eye-movement
Close action
Resize action
Move action
Bring forward or activation
Clicking on part of window
Moving the cursor into a window

13.3 Multiple-Window Design

Multiple monitors
Reduce number of monitors because eye movement across monitors slows work
Rapid display flipping
Greater burdens on users to recognize where they are, to know the commands, to formulate a plan to reach the desired display, and to execute the plan
At airport multiple monitors is better than flipping
split displays (two show two or more parts of document)
Fixed number, size, and place, and space-filling tiling
No overlapping
Variable size, place, and number, and space-filling tiling
Start with a single large window and when a second window is opened, cut the first one in half horizontally or vertically
Non-space-filling tiling
piles-of-tiles
windows stacked one on top of another
Subsequent windows are placed on the least recently used pile, with tabs protruding to allow selection
Window zooming
Arbitrary overlaps
Cascades
Successive windows are offset below (or above) and to the right to allow each window tile to remain visible

13.4 Coordination by Tightly Coupled Windows

Synchronized scrolling
Scroll bar in one window tied to scroll in other
Useful for comparing two versions of program or document
Hierarchical browsing
If one window contains the table of contents of a document, selection of a chapter title by a pointing device should lead to display, in an adjoining window, of the chapter contents
Direct selection
Pointing at an icon, a word in the text, or a variable name in a program pops up an adjoining window with the details of the icon, word definition, or the variable declaration. (e.g., Macintosh balloons)
Two-dimensional browsing
Similar to hierarchical
Overview of map, graphic, or photograph in one window, and the details in a second window
Dependent-windows opening
E.g., when users open a main procedure, the dependent set of procedures could open up
Dependent-windows closing
Save or open window state

13.5 Image Browsing and Tightly-coupled Windows

Large images from medical, geographic info, or graphic systems
Tight coupling between an overview and detail view
Action in one window tied to action in other

The design for image browsers should be governed by the user's tasks which can be classified into:

Image generation
Open-ended exploration
Diagnostic
Navigation
Monitoring

13.6 Personal Role Management and Elastic Windows

Vision statement
Each role has vision statement reminding user of their goals
As professor, teaching role might have vision statement about desire to “increase class participation by collaborative methods, improve teamwork on term projects by requiring regular management meetings …”
Set of people
Make role relevant people continuously visible (names and photos on the border of the large screen)
Cues to remind user of need to inform, make request of, or communicate with individual
Can be used to active menus initiate telephone, fax, or electronic mail
Dropped onto an image to trigger electronic mail
Task hierarchy
Tasks for multiple grants
Each ourse has multiple subtasks, such as writing the syllabus, ordering textbooks, giving exams, and preparing grades
The task hierarchy acts as a to-do list, and is linked to the schedule calendar to remind users of upcoming deadlines
Schedule
For professor role, semester schedule is visible
The requirements for personal role management include:
Support a unified framework for information organization according to users' roles
Provide a visual, spatial layout that matches tasks
Support multi-window actions for fast arrangement of information
Support information access with partial knowledge of its nominal, spatial, temporal, and visual attributes and relationships to other pieces of information.
Allow fast switching and resumption among roles
Free user's cognitive resources to work on task domain actions rather than interface domain actions.
Use screen space efficiently and productively for tasks.
Figure depicts an example of mapping of different roles of a student onto a hierarchical window organization
Student takes two course this semester: software engineering and compuer networks
Project materials and partners; homework assignments, and correspondence with the professor, TAs, and classmates for each course are organized in a hierarchical fashion
This student has a number of other roles, in which he manages home duties, job responsibilities, and the planning of a birthday party.
Partners, schedules, tools, and documents pertaining to each of these roles are mapped hierarchically into different windows
The interface layout provides an overview of the roles, enables direct access on demand to details of role, and can be custom-tailored for a specific task
In elastic windows, users can change the layout according to task quickly, by applying operation on groups of windows