Difference between revisions of "User Experience/ToDo/Competitor Software"
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{{User Experience}} | {{User Experience}} | ||
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| − | The aim of this page is to provide an '''analysis''' of useful features from competitor software. | + | The aim of this page is to provide an '''analysis''' of useful features from competitor software. Competing software includes: |
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* Adobe InDesign CS3 | * Adobe InDesign CS3 | ||
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* Apple iWorks | * Apple iWorks | ||
* Microsoft Office | * Microsoft Office | ||
| + | * IBM Lotus Symphony | ||
* various web-pages | * various web-pages | ||
* specific controls: | * specific controls: | ||
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* ... please expand | * ... please expand | ||
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== Table Styles == | == Table Styles == | ||
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== Context sensitivity == | == Context sensitivity == | ||
| − | * | + | * Two types of controls (toolbar or anything else): fixed, which always have the same options; and dynamic, which, depending on the current context, shows different options (like Symphony's side-panel) |
| + | * Microsoft Office 2007 introduces a contextual spell checker. | ||
== Toolbars and tool dialogs == | == Toolbars and tool dialogs == | ||
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If more toolbar-like UI is desired, then there's [http://movies.apple.com/movies/us/apple/mac/iwork/2007/features/iwork_features_contextualformatbar_20070807_r640-10cie.mov Contextual Format Bar] (Quicktime) | If more toolbar-like UI is desired, then there's [http://movies.apple.com/movies/us/apple/mac/iwork/2007/features/iwork_features_contextualformatbar_20070807_r640-10cie.mov Contextual Format Bar] (Quicktime) | ||
| + | === Extension Manager === | ||
| + | Firefox 3's extension manager has a search box, so the user can search and install a extension direct for the program. This is very easy to use and very productive. | ||
| + | == Responsiveness == | ||
| + | OOo programs respond slowly compared to MS Office. This includes scrolling, saving, focusing objects such as images and tables (due to changing of the tool bar), opening object settings dialogs, closing dialogs. The slow response times quite frustrate users. | ||
[[Category:User Experience|To-Do/Competitor Software]] | [[Category:User Experience|To-Do/Competitor Software]] | ||
[[Category:To-Do|Usability]] | [[Category:To-Do|Usability]] | ||
Latest revision as of 02:29, 24 November 2008
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Quick Navigation Team Communication Activities |
The aim of this page is to provide an analysis of useful features from competitor software. Competing software includes:
- Adobe InDesign CS3
- Adobe Acrobat Professional
- Apple iWorks
- Microsoft Office
- IBM Lotus Symphony
- various web-pages
- specific controls:
- Adobe Type Manager: group fonts
- ... please expand
Contents
Table Styles
Virtually every table on the net uses the following specific design:
Design
- header row: a background color is set
- table-rows:
- two alternating backgrounds
- usually NO hard-borders, but usually light borders
- highlight current row: interactive programs (aka web) implement this feature, too
- slightly rounded corners: sometimes a pretty cheap but visually pleasing effect
Competitor Software
- virtually every web table, including the OOo and Mozilla issue-lists use these web-proven designs.
- Adobe InDesign CS3:
- Be more productive -> Full featured tables paragraph:
- flash demo: see the whole demo
Usability
- Writer: implement such a table style (NO issue yet filed)
- Calc: implement a Spreadsheet-Table View, see issue 78181
- including different header style, alternating background for data-rows and highlight current row
- Impress: highlight current row/ current area, see issue 79882
Styles & Themes
- iWork: professional looking styles & themes out of the box
- MS Office 2007: also professional looking styles & themes out of the box
- Using these two products you have to almost struggle to create ugly documents
- No confusion caused by multiple simultaneous pragmas (strong manual editing support vs styles based)
- Themes format styles automatically, which means extremely easy switching of the whole look
- OOo is very poor on this area!
Side-by-Side Difference between 2 Documents
Many web-programs allow displaying side-by-side differences for 2 text-streams.
Design
- compute differences between 2 versions of a document (or even 2 completely different documents)
- choose difference-sensitivity: text-only, other-objects, formats, ...
- display the 2 pages side-by-side, when issue 1598 gets implemented.
Competitor Software
- Adobe Acrobat Professional implements this feature
- it does a great job (including +/- formatting), even though pdf is such a poor format when it comes to page structure
- various web-programs/diff's: including mediawiki/wikipedia and many more
- various text-editors
- the BLAST-program: see the ncbi BLAST page
Usability
See issue 81526 for further details.
Context sensitivity
- Two types of controls (toolbar or anything else): fixed, which always have the same options; and dynamic, which, depending on the current context, shows different options (like Symphony's side-panel)
- Microsoft Office 2007 introduces a contextual spell checker.
Toolbars and tool dialogs
Inspector (Apple iWork)
Apple's iWork has a concept of "Inspector", which is context sensitive, but with static set of tabs/controls.
It's not a toolbar, but a floating window with tabs. See formatting document movie (Quicktime)
So for example you can select one or more graphical shapes (and tex boxes) and set from the inspector their X/Y position on page or their width and height. Also colors for any object (border/fill) can be changed etc.
Contextual Format Bar (Apple iWork)
If more toolbar-like UI is desired, then there's Contextual Format Bar (Quicktime)
Extension Manager
Firefox 3's extension manager has a search box, so the user can search and install a extension direct for the program. This is very easy to use and very productive.
Responsiveness
OOo programs respond slowly compared to MS Office. This includes scrolling, saving, focusing objects such as images and tables (due to changing of the tool bar), opening object settings dialogs, closing dialogs. The slow response times quite frustrate users.
