Comments on: Dialogue Boxes and Error Messages: Paying Attention to the Little Things http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2007/06/15/error-messages-paying-attention-to-the-little-things/ UIE\'s latest insights on the world of design Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:51:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Yan http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2007/06/15/error-messages-paying-attention-to-the-little-things/comment-page-1/#comment-90821 Yan Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:45:00 +0000 http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2007/06/15/error-messages-paying-attention-to-the-little-things/#comment-90821 That message (on the macs) has always struck me as highly cryptic. For the most part macs make the smart choice of 'sensible defaults'. Compared to windows the number of dialogs when installing software, etc is almost next to nothing. But for something like this - the average user has absolutely no idea what the dialog is asking. The problem is not that the dialog should be yes/no. The problem is that the dialog should not exist at all. If I fire up an application that needs a new format for the keys, quite simply the keys should be transformed to the new format and a backup should be kept without asking me. If for some reason I fire up an old application it can read the keys from backup. I hope this change is made in leopard. This is one case where the mac fails to follow the philosophy of simply making a reasonable assumption and offering undo capabilities over popping up a dialog box. That message (on the macs) has always struck me as highly cryptic. For the most part macs make the smart choice of ’sensible defaults’. Compared to windows the number of dialogs when installing software, etc is almost next to nothing. But for something like this – the average user has absolutely no idea what the dialog is asking.

The problem is not that the dialog should be yes/no. The problem is that the dialog should not exist at all. If I fire up an application that needs a new format for the keys, quite simply the keys should be transformed to the new format and a backup should be kept without asking me. If for some reason I fire up an old application it can read the keys from backup. I hope this change is made in leopard. This is one case where the mac fails to follow the philosophy of simply making a reasonable assumption and offering undo capabilities over popping up a dialog box.

]]> By: Daniel Szuc http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2007/06/15/error-messages-paying-attention-to-the-little-things/comment-page-1/#comment-78510 Daniel Szuc Sat, 16 Jun 2007 03:47:51 +0000 http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2007/06/15/error-messages-paying-attention-to-the-little-things/#comment-78510 If the only channel available is a kiosk or you are relying heavily on that channel because you prefer self serve (long lines etc) - it can be even more frustrating! If the only channel available is a kiosk or you are relying heavily on that channel because you prefer self serve (long lines etc) – it can be even more frustrating!

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