Legacy Maemo 5 Documentation/Human Interface Guidelines/Notes and Banners

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{{Legacy documentation}}
 
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=Notes and Banners=
=Notes and Banners=
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When it is necessary to show information to the user, either to give some information or to ask for confirmation, use notes and banners.
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Notes or Banners should be used when it is necessary to present users with application-specific information or to ask for some kind of confirmation.
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This type of widgets constitute some kind of intrusion into the user's space and therefore must not be used except where strictly necessary.
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Because these widgets interrupt the natural flow of most application interactions, they should be used sparingly and only when crucial to a specific function of the application.  
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Banners and notes differ in the way they are presented to the user. The most relevant difference is that the former do not require any user interaction to be dismissed. Notes, on the other hand, always require user interaction before being closed. For this reason, use banners only to display temporarily relevant information, that the user can safely skip or ignore after some time.
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While banners do not require any user interaction in order to be dismissed, notes always need one.
==Information Notes==
==Information Notes==
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Information notes are modal dialogs that display information to the user and have no buttons - the user simply presses the screen and the note disappears.
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Information notes are modal dialogs that display information, but have no buttons -- simply pressing anywhere on the screen will make the note disappear.  
[[Image:information_note.png|400px]]
[[Image:information_note.png|400px]]
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Use these kind of notes be only when the user's attention is required - for information the user must read. For example, an application may have finished an important task and needs to provide the user with some information gathered during that task.
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This kind of a note should only be used when immediate attention is required (information that users must read). For example, if an application is performing an important task that requires user input in order to complete the task.  
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The usage of this type of note should be rare.
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Information Notes should only be used when necessary, as there are other, less obtrusive ways to interact with users.  
==Confirmation Notes==
==Confirmation Notes==
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Information notes are modal dialogs that display information to the user and have no buttons - the user simply presses the screen and the note disappears.
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Confirmation Notes are modal dialogs with two or more options available to the user. Confirmation Notes can be viewed as the Hildon equivalent to GTK's alert dialogs.  
[[Image:confirmation_note.png|400px]]
[[Image:confirmation_note.png|400px]]
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These notes must be used when the application is about to perform some tasks that can lead to an undesired action like destroying data, compromising security or taking a long time. Unlike information notes, confirmation notes only disappear after a user response, that is, they do not go away until the user presses one of the note's buttons.
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These notes should be used when the application is about to perform a task that might lead to an unintended action like destroying data, compromising security, or requiring inordinate processing time. Unlike Information Notes, Confirmation Notes only disappear after a user's response, that is, they won't go away until the user presses one of the note's buttons.  
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The user must be able to moderate or even configure confirmation notes. For example, on the preferences dialog of an application there can be a way for the user to configure if the application asks for confirmation when the user quits it.
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Use Confirmation Notes in moderation and consider making their frequency user-configurable in the application's Preferences dialog (i.e., allow users to turn off features like confirming to quit the application, etc).
===Note Buttons===
===Note Buttons===
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Confirmation notes must normally ask a question the answer to which must be "Yes" or "No", so that is the text that the note's buttons must have.
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In most cases, Confirmation Notes should only ask "Yes" or "No" questions where the text on the buttons is "Yes" and "No." Also, assure that button ordering is consistent across your application. Don't set the "Yes" button as the first button in one Confirmation Note but as the second button in other notes.  
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Keep the order of the buttons consistent across your application, that is, do not set the "Yes" button as the first button in a confirmation note and as the second button in other notes.  
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==Banner==
==Banner==
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Banners are used to display information for a period of time. Use this type of notifications to display non-critical information, for example that a certain task is finished or that an application state has changed.
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Banners are used to display information for a specified duration. This type of notification should be used to display non-critical information (that a certain task is complete, or that an application state has changed, etc.).
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The period of time that a banner takes to disappear can be adjusted. However, that time must not be excessive because it is an intrusive form of telling the user something.
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The period of time that a banner will stay onscreen can be adjusted. However, the duration should not be excessive, as it is an intrusive method for displaying information.
[[Image:banner.png|400px]]
[[Image:banner.png|400px]]
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''Figure 5: A banner''
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''Figure 5: An banner''
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Distinguish banners from the system's own banners. The banners must suggest to the user which application they belong to. You can do this by even displaying the application's name or by making it clear in the message's text.
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Banners should be distinguished from the system's own banners, that is, they should suggest to the user which application they belong to. This can be done by displaying the application's name or by making it clear in the message's text.

Latest revision as of 04:56, 12 November 2011

Contents

[edit] Notes and Banners

Notes or Banners should be used when it is necessary to present users with application-specific information or to ask for some kind of confirmation.

Because these widgets interrupt the natural flow of most application interactions, they should be used sparingly and only when crucial to a specific function of the application.

While banners do not require any user interaction in order to be dismissed, notes always need one.

[edit] Information Notes

Information notes are modal dialogs that display information, but have no buttons -- simply pressing anywhere on the screen will make the note disappear.

Figure 3: An information note


This kind of a note should only be used when immediate attention is required (information that users must read). For example, if an application is performing an important task that requires user input in order to complete the task.

Information Notes should only be used when necessary, as there are other, less obtrusive ways to interact with users.

[edit] Confirmation Notes

Confirmation Notes are modal dialogs with two or more options available to the user. Confirmation Notes can be viewed as the Hildon equivalent to GTK's alert dialogs.

Figure 4: An confirmation note


These notes should be used when the application is about to perform a task that might lead to an unintended action like destroying data, compromising security, or requiring inordinate processing time. Unlike Information Notes, Confirmation Notes only disappear after a user's response, that is, they won't go away until the user presses one of the note's buttons.

Use Confirmation Notes in moderation and consider making their frequency user-configurable in the application's Preferences dialog (i.e., allow users to turn off features like confirming to quit the application, etc).

[edit] Note Buttons

In most cases, Confirmation Notes should only ask "Yes" or "No" questions where the text on the buttons is "Yes" and "No." Also, assure that button ordering is consistent across your application. Don't set the "Yes" button as the first button in one Confirmation Note but as the second button in other notes.


[edit] Banner

Banners are used to display information for a specified duration. This type of notification should be used to display non-critical information (that a certain task is complete, or that an application state has changed, etc.).

The period of time that a banner will stay onscreen can be adjusted. However, the duration should not be excessive, as it is an intrusive method for displaying information.

Figure 5: An banner

Banners should be distinguished from the system's own banners, that is, they should suggest to the user which application they belong to. This can be done by displaying the application's name or by making it clear in the message's text.

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