Apple 2 manual

Addison-W esley Publishing Company Reading, Massachusetts Menlo Park, California New Y ork Don Mills, Ontario W okingham, England Amsterdam Bonn Sydney Singapore T okyo Madrid San Juan Paris Seoul Milan Mexico City T aipei Newton 2.0 User Interface Guidelines[...]

 Apple Computer , Inc. © 1996, 1994 Apple Computer , Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repr oduced, stored in a r etrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, r ecording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Apple Computer , Inc., except to make a bac[...]

iii Contents Figures xiii Pref ace About This Book xxi Who Should Read This Book xxi What’s in This Book xxii Related Books xxii V isual Cues Used in This Book xxiii Developer Products and Support xxiii Chapter 1 Ne wton and Its Users 1-1 Understand Newton 1-1 Know Y our Audience 1-2 What People Do W ith Newton 1-3 Accessibility 1-3 Observe Basic[...]

iv Use Screen Space W isely 1-1 1 Check the Screen Size 1-1 1 Involve Users in the Design Process 1-13 Define Y our Audience 1-13 Analyze T asks 1-13 Build Prototypes 1-14 Observe Users 1-14 T en Steps for Conducting a User Observation 1-15 Chapter 2 Container Vie ws 2-1 How V iews Look 2-3 V iew Controls 2-3 V iew T itle 2-4 V iew Border 2-6 Matt[...]

v Close, Stop, or Cancel 2-23 User Decision 2-24 Palettes 2-24 Drawers 2-26 Roll V iews 2-27 How V iews W ork 2-28 Opening Container V iews 2-28 V iew Display Order 2-28 The Backdrop 2-29 What Is Active 2-29 V iew Position 2-30 Position of a Main V iew 2-30 Position of Auxiliary V iews 2-31 Closing a V iew 2-32 Closing a Main V iew 2-32 Closing a S[...]

vi Chapter 3 Controls 3-1 Buttons 3-2 T ext Buttons 3-2 T ext Button Sizes 3-3 Naming T ext Buttons 3-4 Naming T ake-Action Buttons 3-4 Naming Cancel- and Stop-Action Buttons 3-5 Picture Buttons 3-7 Designing Picture Buttons 3-8 Button Behavior 3-9 Button Feedback 3-9 Button States 3-10 Button Placement 3-1 1 Button Spacing 3-12 Large Buttons 3-14 [...]

vii Chapter 4 Pic kers 4-1 List Pickers 4-2 Elements of List Pickers 4-2 Check Marks 4-3 Icons 4-3 Item Names 4-3 T able of Items 4-4 Unavailable Items 4-5 Organization of List Pickers 4-6 Sources of List Pickers 4-7 Position of List Pickers 4-8 Using a List Picker 4-9 Picking an Item 4-9 User Editing of Pickers 4-1 1 Scrolling 4-12 Index T abs 4-1[...]

viii Chapter 5 Icons 5-1 Designing Effective Icons 5-1 Thinking Up an Icon Image 5-2 Make Shapely Icons 5-3 Design for the Newton Display 5-3 A void T ext in Icons 5-4 Make All Sizes of an Icon Look Alike 5-4 Use Icons Consistently 5-5 Think About Multicultural Compatibility 5-6 Extras Drawer Icons 5-6 Extras Drawer Icons T ogether 5-6 Extras Drawe[...]

ix Shape Input 6-13 General Input 6-14 Recognition 6-15 User Control of Recognition 6-16 Deferred Recognition 6-18 Forcing Recognition 6-19 Configuring Recognition 6-19 Editing 6-21 Selecting T ext and Shapes 6-22 Erasing T ext or Shapes 6-24 Joining W ords 6-26 Breaking Paragraphs 6-26 Inserting Space in T ext 6-26 Inserting New T ext 6-27 Replac[...]

x Error Handling 6-37 Error Corr ection 6-37 Error Detection 6-38 Chapter 7 Routing and Communications 7-1 The In/Out Box 7-2 The In Box 7-3 The Out Box 7-4 In/Out Box Items 7-4 V iewing Items in the In/Out Box 7-5 V iewing Routing Information 7-6 Routing Outgoing Items 7-7 Action Button and Picker 7-8 An Action Button’s Location 7-9 Action Picke[...]

xi Routing Status 7-29 Stopping a Send or Receive in Progr ess 7-31 T ransport Preferences 7-32 Routing Alternatives 7-34 Routing by Intelligent Assistant 7-35 Programmed Sending 7-36 Chapter 8 Ne wton Ser vices 8-1 Automatic Busy Cursor 8-2 Notify Button and Picker 8-2 Alarms 8-4 Unacknowledged Alarms 8-5 Alarm Etiquette 8-5 Sound 8-6 Find 8-6 T e[...]

xii Prefer ences 8-30 System-wide Prefer ences 8-30 Application Prefer ences 8-31 Appendix A voiding Common Mistak es A-1 Info Button A-1 New and Show Buttons A-1 Screen Size A-1 T apping v . W riting A-1 Picker Placement and Alignment A-2 Field Alignment A-2 Close Box Size A-2 Button Location A-2 Button Spacing A-2 Button Size A-3 Capitalization A[...]

xiii Figur es Chapter 1 Newton and Its Users 1-1 Figure 1-1 Metaphors help people quickly g rasp how software works 1-5 Figure 1-2 Users should f eel they are directly controlling something tangible 1-6 Figure 1-3 An application adjusts its size , position, and lay out to fit the screen 1-12 Chapter 2 Container Views 2-1 Figure 2-1 Examples of con[...]

xiv Figure 2-18 A confirmation aler t tells the user about a gra v e situation 2-19 Figure 2-19 A status slip repor ts on a lengthy oper ation 2-20 Figure 2-20 A sequence of status messages traces the steps of an operation 2-22 Figure 2-21 A gauge in a status slip measures elapsing progress 2-23 Figure 2-22 A status slip can repor t a condition th[...]

xv Chapter 3 Controls 3-1 Figure 3-1 T apping a button initiates an action 3-2 Figure 3-2 A te xt button’ s name states what the button does 3-2 Figure 3-3 Leav e standard margins between a b utton’ s name and its borders 3-3 Figure 3-4 Name buttons distinctiv ely where v er possible 3-5 Figure 3-5 Where to use a button named Cancel 3-6 Figure [...]

xvi Figure 3-31 Where an Action button goes 3-29 Figure 3-32 Seeing an Item Inf o slip 3-30 Figure 3-33 A Rotate button lets users change the screen orientation 3-31 Chapter 4 Pick ers 4-1 Figure 4-1 The par ts of list pick ers 4-2 Figure 4-2 A list pick er can contain a two-dimensional tab le of items 4-5 Figure 4-3 Remov e unav ailab le items fro[...]

xvii Chapter 5 Icons 5-1 Figure 5-1 Distinctive icon shapes are easier to recogniz e than rectangular icons 5-3 Figure 5-2 A v oid te xt in icons 5-4 Figure 5-3 Small icon resembles large icon 5-5 Figure 5-4 Use icon elements consistently 5-5 Figure 5-5 The good, the bad, and the ugly in Extras Dra wer icons 5-7 Figure 5-6 Large icons crowd the Ext[...]

xviii Figure 6-14 The Recognizer b utton and pick er giv e users control ov er recognition 6-16 Figure 6-15 Users ma y need to control recognition separately in a slip 6-17 Figure 6-16 In an Alpha Sor ter pick er , users select a sort key f or ink text 6-19 Figure 6-17 Selecting words and shapes 6-23 Figure 6-18 Orientations of the scr ubbing gestu[...]

xix Figure 7-8 A routing slip shows sender , recipient, and type of transpor t 7-13 Figure 7-9 Changing the sender’ s name or location 7-14 Figure 7-10 Choosing a printer in a routing slip 7-16 Figure 7-11 Choosing f ax or e-mail recipients in a routing slip 7-17 Figure 7-12 Switching to another transpor t in a group 7-18 Figure 7-13 Setting f or[...]

xx Figure 8-5 A standard Find slip specifies what to find and where to look 8-7 Figure 8-6 Specifying te xt or date searches in a Find slip 8-7 Figure 8-7 Specifying a date in a Find slip 8-8 Figure 8-8 Searching specified applications 8-9 Figure 8-9 A custom Find slip displa ys application-specific criter ia at the top 8-10 Figure 8-10 A statu[...]

PREF ACE xxi About This Book Newton 2.0 User Interface Guidelines describes how to create software pr oducts that optimize the interaction between people and devices that use Newton 2.0 software. The book explains the whys and hows of the Newton 2.0 interface in general terms and in specific details. Newton 2.0 User Interface Guidelines helps you [...]

PREF ACE xxii This book assumes you are familiar with the concepts and terminology used with Newton devices, and that you have used a Newton device and its standard applications. What’s in This Book This book begins with a chapter that describes Newton devices such as the Apple MessagePad, what people do with them, and how they differ fr om perso[...]

PREF ACE xxiii ■ Newton T oolkit User ’ s Guide. This book intr oduces the Newton T oolkit (NTK) development environment and shows how to develop Newton applications using Newton T oolkit. Y ou should read this book first if you ar e a new Newton application developer . ■ Newton Book Maker User ’ s Guide. This book describes how to use New[...]

PREF ACE xxiv features all curr ent versions of Apple development tools, as well as popular third-party development tools. APDA offers convenient payment and shipping options, including site licensing. T o order product or to r equest a complimentary copy of the Apple Developer Catalog, use the following information: APDA Apple Computer , Inc. P .O[...]

Understand Newton 1-1 CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users 1 Before you can begin to design an application, it is crucial that you have a clear picture of what a Newton device can do and how people will use your Newton software. This chapter intr oduces some high-level concepts that will help you clarify that picture. In addition, this chapter pr esents [...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users 1-2 Know Y our Audience Newton is not a small portable computer with another graphical user interface. There may be similarities between portable computers and Newton devices, but the differ ences summarized below are mor e important than the similarities when it comes to designing a user interface for an application.[...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users Know Y our Audience 1-3 using a step-by-step approach by thinking of how a person might get fr om one place to the next in a logical fashion. Involve users throughout the design pr ocess and observe them working in their environment. Use people who fit your audience description to test your prototypes and development[...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users 1-4 Obser ve Basic Human Interf ace Pr inciples Make your application accessible to people around the world by including support for worldwide capabilities in your designs from the beginning of your development process. T ake stock of the cultural and linguistic needs and expectations of your target audiences. Observe[...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users Obser ve Basic Human Interf ace Pr inciples 1-5 Figure 1-1 Metaphors help people quickly g rasp how softw are works Newton doesn’t have to be constrained by the same limitation. Newton folders can hold a limitless number of items (up to the storage capacity of the hardwar e), and this is an advantage that the Newton[...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users 1-6 Obser ve Basic Human Interf ace Pr inciples Direct Manipulation 1 Y our product should let users feel that they are dir ectly controlling something tangible, not abstract. Make sure objects on the scr een remain visible while a user performs actions on them, and make the result of the user ’s actions immediately[...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users Obser ve Basic Human Interf ace Pr inciples 1-7 F eedbac k 1 In addition to seeing the results of their actions, users need immediate feed- back when they operate controls and ongoing status r eports during lengthy operations. Have your application respond to every user action with some visible change. For example, ma[...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users 1-8 Obser ve Basic Human Interf ace Pr inciples Y ou can make your application consistent visually and behaviorally by incorporating standard Newton interface elements in it. V isual consistency helps people learn and then easily recognize the graphic language of the interface. For example, users learn to recognize a [...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users Obser ve Basic Human Interf ace Pr inciples 1-9 Stability 1 Personal digital assistants introduce a new level of complexity for many people. T o cope with this complexity , people need some stable reference points. The Newton interface is designed to provide an envir onment that is understandable, familiar , and predi[...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users 1-10 Design f or the Newton System Design for the Newton System 1 In addition to the general user interface principles presented in the pr evious section, you should keep in mind the guidelines in this section as you design software specifically for the Newton system. Obser v e the Built-In Applications 1 Y our softw[...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users Design f or the Newton System 1-1 1 K eep Applications Simple 1 Newton isn’t designed for complex tasks or applications that requir e viewing a large ar ea or multiple windows of data at a time. Applications that r equire the user to keep track of several pieces of information at once probably won’t work well beca[...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users 1-12 Design f or the Newton System get confused about what’s frontmost—and ther efore about what will be scrolled when the scr oll arrows ar e tapped and which view is curr ently in use. Also keep in mind when designing your application that future Newton devices may have larger or smaller scr eens than current Ne[...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users Inv olv e Users in the Design Process 1-13 Involve Users in the Design Pr ocess 1 The best way to make sure your pr oduct meets the needs of your target audience is to show it to the kinds of people you hope will buy it. Do they understand what it’s for and what to do with it? Can they use it? Can they keep track of[...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users 1-14 Inv olv e Users in the Design Process Then look at how the Newton can facilitate the tasks. T o help plan a task analysis, imagine a scenario in which someone uses your product. List each task a person might perform in that scenario, then break each task apart into its component steps. This allows you to identify[...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users Inv olv e Users in the Design Process 1-15 more specific tasks. These tasks can be based on the task analyses that you performed earlier in the design process. After you determine which tasks to use, write them out as short, simple instructions. Y our instructions to the participants should be clear and complete but [...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users 1-16 Inv olv e Users in the Design Process “If we can locate the trouble spots, then we can go back and impr ove the product.” “Remember , we’re testing the pr oduct, not you.” 2. T ell the participant that it’ s OK to quit at any time. Never leave this step out. Make sure you inform participants that they[...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users Inv olv e Users in the Design Process 1-17 5. Explain that you will not provide help. It is very important that you allow participants to work with your product without any interference or extra help. This is the best way to see how people really interact with the pr oduct. For example, if you see a participant begin [...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users 1-18 Inv olv e Users in the Design Process 7. Ask if there are any questions before you start; then begin the observation. 8. During the observation, remember several pointers: Stay alert. It’s very easy to let your mind wander when you’re in the seventh hour of observing users. A great deal of the information you[...]

CHAPTER 1 Newton and Its Users Inv olv e Users in the Design Process 1-19 Be sure to schedule time between your sessions to make notes and r eview the session. Jot down any significant points. If you used videotape or audio cassette tape, mark in your notes the specific parts of the tape that you may want to review . T o get the most out of your [...]

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2-1 CHAPTER 2 Container V iews 2 pictThis chapter describes container views, in which an application shows the user text and graphic information, and in which the user interacts with the information and the application. The chapter presents specifications and recommendations about the appearance and behavior of these container views, including how[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-2 Figure 2-1 Examples of container views Corrector view Main view Ordinary slip Aler t box Palette Routing slip[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views How Vie ws Look 2-3 When people manipulate container views on the screen, they see immediate visual feedback. As a user drags a movable container view, the view keeps up with the user’s pen, reinforcing the user’s sense of direct manipulation. When people open and close container views, they see a representation of suc[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-4 How Vie ws Look Figure 2-2 Standard controls f or manipulating views Vie w Title 2 A container view should have a title at the top unless the view’s identity is obvious from its contents. Or dinarily a title consists of text in the bold style of the system font, an optional small icon, and a triple underline, all cen[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views How Vie ws Look 2-5 Figure 2-3 V arious title styles The title only identifies the container view’s contents. The title is not a control that the user can tap to change a setting, alter a state, or initiate an action. Controls that do these things are described in Chapter 3, “Controls.” For example, if you want users[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-6 How Vie ws Look Vie w Border 2 Every container view is framed by a border . (A border is not visible if its view fills the screen.) Primarily , a view’s border serves to demarcate what’s in the view and what’s not. Secondarily , certain borders identify special types of container views. In general, Newton views [...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views How Vie ws Look 2-7 Striped Border 2 A border made of pairs of short, slanted lines edged by a thin black rectangle is used around views known as routing slips (see “Routing Slips” on page 7-12) . It’s no accident that this border looks something like the bor der traditionally printed on airmail envelopes, because ro[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-8 How Vie ws Look Figure 2-6 An aler t box has a thic k wa vy border Plain Border 2 For simplicity , some container views requir e a plain black border made of medium-weight lines. Figure 2-7 shows examples of views with plain bor ders. Figure 2-7 Some views need the simplicity of a plain border Drop Shadows 2 It’s pos[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views Main Views 2-9 reinfor ces the notion that there ar e two parts to a r outing slip—an outer part above the shadow and an inner part below it. Figure 2-8 shows acceptable and unacceptable uses of shadows in the Newton interface. Figure 2-8 Sparing use of some types of shadows is OK Vie w Fill 2 Standard container views by[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-10 Main Views Applications are not limited to one main view . The built-in Names File and Date Book applications, for example, have several main views each. Title or F older T ab 2 An application’s main view should have an ordinary , underlined title at the top unless the view’s identity is obvious from its contents.[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views Main Views 2-1 1 Primar y Controls and Status Bar 2 An application’s primary controls go at the bottom of its main view , usually on a status bar . A status bar is not strictly requir ed, but it helps to visually anchor the controls. Figur e 2-10 shows sample status bars with assorted controls. Figure 2-10 A status bar a[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-12 Main Views Figure 2-11 Separator bars separate multiple items in a scrolling vie w A user creates a separator bar , also called a divider bar , by drawing a line across the view or by tapping a New button on the view’s status bar . T apping the New button always scrolls to the last item and adds a new blank item bel[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views Main Views 2-13 The Main Vie w’ s Border 2 Every application’s main view must have a border , even if the border is not visible because the view fills the screen. Generally , an application’s main view should have a rounded-corner matte bor der (as described under “V iew Border” on page 2-6). Alternatively , a m[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-14 A uxiliar y Views Auxiliary V iews 2 When an application needs to display and input more information than will fit in its main view , it displays an auxiliary view . There ar e several types of auxiliary views, as shown in Figure 2-13 and detailed in the following sections. Figure 2-13 Examples of auxiliar y views Or[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views A uxiliar y Views 2-15 An auxiliary view appears in front of the view to which it is subordinate. For details on the customary position of a slip and the front-to-back ordering of views, “How Views Work” on page 2-28. Slips 2 The most common type of auxiliary view is called a slip. An application can use slips to get d[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-16 A uxiliar y Views Movable slips should have matte borders, and stationary slips should not. For instance, routing slips ar e stationary and have special striped borders. Border styles ar e described in “V iew Border” on page 2-6. A slip contains text and controls and may contain icons, pictures, and input fields.[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views A uxiliar y Views 2-17 In the absence of a take-action button, a Close box means simply, “I’m done with this task.” Close boxes and text buttons are cover ed in Chapter 3, “Controls.” Input fields follow the guidelines given in Chapter 6, “Data Input.” Notification Aler ts 2 An application uses a particular[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-18 A uxiliar y Views Figure 2-17 A Snooze button enab les a user to dismiss an alert temporar ily Before closing a notification alert, a user can tap the small circled i in the upper left corner to display the date and time at which the notification appeared. While any notification alert is open, the user can scroll thro[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views A uxiliar y Views 2-19 dangerous situation. For example, a confirmation alert appears befor e Newton restor es anything from the backup on a storage car d. A confirmation alert has no Close box. Instead, it has labeled buttons, usually one named OK and another named Cancel. The user taps OK to continue the far-r eaching [...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-20 A uxiliar y Views Status Slips 2 When an application begins an operation that takes more than a few seconds to complete, the application should display a message describing its busy status. The application can display the status message in a view that’s already displayed, or it can display the message in a status sl[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views A uxiliar y Views 2-21 A status slip does not take the place of the Newton busy cursor , which appears automatically at the top center of the screen when the system temporarily cannot respond to user input (see “Automatic Busy Cursor” on page 8-2). Y our application should display a status slip when it begins an operat[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-22 A uxiliar y Views Figure 2-20 A sequence of status messages traces the steps of an operation Progress Indicator 2 The progr ess indicator , if present in a status slip, can take dif fer ent forms. It can be a simple “barber pole” gauge, which animates a set of diagonal stripes while the operation progr esses but d[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views A uxiliar y Views 2-23 Figure 2-21 A gauge in a status slip measures elapsing progress Close, Stop , or Cancel 2 A status slip usually has a large Close box and a Stop button or Cancel button. T apping the Stop button or Cancel button halts the operation that’s in progr ess. If halting the operation takes more than a few[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-24 A uxiliar y Views User Decision 2 Besides reporting on the pr ogress of an ongoing operation, a status slip can report a condition that r equires a user to choose one of two alternatives. This type of status slip contains an icon, a message of up to three lines, and two text buttons. This type of status slip does not [...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views A uxiliar y Views 2-25 Figure 2-23 A palette provides handy access to useful settings A palette has a Close box, or a large Close box if a text or picture button is adjacent, but the user may leave the palette open indefinitely. This has several ramifications, one being that a user must be able to move the palette to get a[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-26 Dra wers Drawers 2 A drawer is a container view that slides open and closed at the bottom of the screen or at the bottom of another container view . Figure 2-24 shows the Extras Drawer . Figure 2-24 A draw er slides open and closed A drawer can be used for the main view of an application or for an auxiliary view . It [...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views Roll Views 2-27 Roll V iews 2 In a roll view several discrete, fixed-size subviews ar e arranged one above another like pictures on a filmstrip. A roll view invariably contains mor e subviews than can be displayed in full detail at once. T o see a subview that’s not currently displayed, a user can scr oll thr ough the [...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-28 How Vie ws Work How V iews W ork 2 Container views provide immediate feedback about actions a user may take, such as opening, closing, moving, and scrolling. The r emainder of this chapter describes these behaviors. Opening Container Vie ws 2 Opening a container view makes it visible and gives the user access to it (u[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views How Vie ws Work 2-29 The Bac kdrop 2 A Newton device always has at least one application open, and it is called the backdrop. The backdrop’s main view is at the bottom of the display order . The backdrop cannot be closed, so its main view has no Close box. For example, the backdrop on an Apple MessagePad 120 is initially[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-30 How Vie ws Work Although modeless views give users more flexibility , modal views have the advantage of being less ambiguous. Nothing a user does in a modal view should take effect until the user taps a button to confirm the state of the modal view . A modal view avoids intermediate states that can occur with a mode[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views How Vie ws Work 2-31 If the main view is movable, your application should save its position before closing it, and should reopen it in the position at which the user left it. Keep users in control. P osition of Auxiliary Vie ws 2 When a user opens a slip, palette, or other auxiliary view , your application should initially[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-32 How Vie ws Work view does not get any pen input from outside the parent’s bounds. These restrictions have no practical effect on an auxiliary view that is attached to the root view instead of an application’s base view. Closing a Vie w 2 Closing a container view makes it go away . Most views close in response to u[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views How Vie ws Work 2-33 Closing a Slip 2 A user can close any slip except a confirmation alert by tapping the Close box at the slip’s lower right corner . The slip goes away , and the application accepts any changes a user made in the slip unless the slip has a take-action button next to the Close box (as described in “S[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-34 How Vie ws Work Figure 2-26 Dragging a view’ s drag handle mov es the view Changing a Vie w’ s Size 2 Y our application determines the size of its views. It should base its view sizes on the screen size of the Newton device on which it is running, since Newton screens can come in a wide range of sizes. For example[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views How Vie ws Work 2-35 Figure 2-27 Dynamically adjust a view’ s position, size, and la yout to fit the screen An application may grow or shrink one of its views in r esponse to user actions, but users should not be allowed to change view size directly . Do not allow users to resize a view by dragging a corner of it. Figur[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-36 How Vie ws Work Scrolling 2 An application that deals with multiple instances of similar information— multiple notes in the Notepad, multiple names in the Name File, multiple days in the Date Book, and so on—can’t display all the instances at once in a single view . People scroll the information to move currentl[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views How Vie ws Work 2-37 Scrolling With Scroll Arro ws 2 A user scrolls information in a view by tapping scroll arr ows on a Newton device. Scroll arr ows always come in pairs, each arrow pointing away fr om the other and toward information that is curr ently hidden. T apping an arrow means “Show me more of the information t[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-38 How Vie ws Work Each tap on a scroll arrow moves one unit in the chosen direction. Your application determines how much one unit is. For example, the Notepad moves one note for each tap on the arrow; for a note longer than the view, each tap scrolls the number of displayed lines minus one. The Names File application m[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views How Vie ws Work 2-39 Figure 2-31 The universal scroll arro ws at the bottom of a MessageP ad screen Any view can have its scrolling contr olled by user taps on the universal scroll arr ows, but they only affect one of the open views. T o be affected, a view must meet two requir ements. First, the view must be set up during[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-40 How Vie ws Work Figure 2-32 How scroll arrows w ork in the Date Book’ s Da y view Usually each tap on a local scroll arr ow scrolls one item of information. If a user presses and holds the pen on a local scr oll arrow , items scroll by continuously . After five items have scr olled by , the application can begin sc[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views How Vie ws Work 2-41 Local scroll arr ows can use color—white or black—to indicate whether scrolling will bring mor e items or any more empty space into view . An arr ow is black if tapping it will bring more items into view . An arrow is white if tapping it will not bring more items into view . Figure 2-33 illustrates[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-42 How Vie ws Work Figure 2-34 A control for scrolling in f our directions There’s an alternate four -way scroller that may be better in some situations. The alternate scroller is mor e compact than the standard scr oller , but users find the standard scr oller easier to target. Figur e 2-35 shows the alternate four-w[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views How Vie ws Work 2-43 A utomatic Scrolling 2 In the discussions of scrolling behavior and appearance in the pr evious sections, the user controls scr olling by deciding which scroll arr ow to use and how long to use it. Most of the time the user should be in control, but sometimes an application should scroll a view automat[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-44 How Vie ws Work Scrolling P erformance 2 Scrolling the contents of a view can sometimes seem slow . Here ar e some techniques you can use to improve scr olling speed: ■ Implement the accelerated scrolling behavior described in “Local Scr oll Arrows” on page 2-39. ■ Scroll multiple lines at a time, rather than [...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views How Vie ws Work 2-45 Figure 2-37 How an ov erview relates to a detail view An overview commonly takes the form of a table of contents. It lists the titles or names of items that can be viewed in more detail. T ogether with the name or title of each item, the overview lists a a key bit of information about the item. For ins[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-46 How Vie ws Work on the selected items with controls in the status bar , such as a Filing button or Action button (see “Primary Controls and Status Bar” on page 2-1 1). A gray line separates checkboxes from data items. If an overview lists items that users may have filed in folders, the overview should have a fold[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views How Vie ws Work 2-47 Switching to and from an Ov er view 2 T o see an overview , a user taps the Newton device’s Overview button. The detail item that was displayed should either be centered in the overview or at the top of the overview . Figure 2-39 shows the change when a Names File user taps the Overview button. Figur[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views 2-48 How Vie ws Work displayed, causes the normal view of the tapped name to appear; but tapping the right part of the line, where the telephone number is displayed, initiates a phone call. If an application spends more than a few seconds preparing an overview, it should display a status slip with a message such as “Prep[...]

CHAPTER 2 Container Views How Vie ws Work 2-49 Closing an Ov er view 2 T apping the Close box has the same effect whether a view is displaying item detail or an overview—the application closes. T apping a Close box in an overview does not switch to item detail. Nonfunctional Scroll and Ov er vie w Controls 2 Some views scroll or display an overvi[...]

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3-1 CHAPTER 3 Contr ols 3 Controls ar e graphic objects that cause instant actions or audible results when the user manipulates them with the pen. Some controls change settings that modify future actions. Other contr ols allow users to make choices or to assign parameters in a range. Controls display existing choices so that they are visible to use[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls 3-2 Buttons Buttons 3 A button is a small graphic object that performs an action when tapped. The action that the button performs is described by text or a picture on the button, as shown in Figure 3-1. Figure 3-1 T apping a button initiates an action T e xt Buttons 3 A text button is a r ounded rectangle containing text that nam[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls Buttons 3-3 T e xt Button Siz es 3 A text button should be the same height as the large Close box (described under “Close Boxes” on page 3-14) and wide enough for its name to fit centered on one line in the bold style of the system font. Make the button wide enough to leave as much space at the sides of the text as there is [...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls 3-4 Buttons If your application has buttons whose names change during the operation of the application, the application must resize the button when its name changes so that the spacing always conforms to the guidelines. Naming T e xt Buttons 3 Keep button names short. Never use more than thr ee words for a button name, and try to[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls Buttons 3-5 Figure 3-4 Name buttons distinctiv ely where v er possible There are cases where a button named OK or Yes serves best. You may want to name a button with a vague affirmative to encourage the user to look elsewhere in the slip for a complete description of a pending action with far-reaching consequences. Another place [...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls 3-6 Buttons Figure 3-5 Where to use a button named Cancel A button named Cancel should close the view it’s in and return the application to the state it was in before the view appear ed. Cancel means “Dismiss the operation I started, with no other effects.” A Cancel button should not be the only button that can close a view[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls Buttons 3-7 Picture Buttons 3 A picture button is a small pictur e (an icon) that repr esents the button’s function. The picture is usually bor dered by a r ounded r ectangle, like a text button with a picture instead of a text name. Figure 3-7 shows several picture buttons. Figure 3-7 A picture button depicts what the b utton [...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls 3-8 Buttons its picture has an unbr oken line around it—a sort of self-bor der . Figure 3-8 shows where you should omit pictur e button borders and wher e you should keep the borders. Figure 3-8 Where to use borders with small, self-bordered picture buttons Designing Picture Buttons 3 Picture buttons ar e tempting to use becaus[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls Buttons 3-9 Button Beha vior 3 Although text buttons and picture buttons look dif ferent, their basic behavior is the same. Both types of buttons provide similar feedback to the user , and an application disables both types the same way . Button F eedbac k 3 When a user taps a text button or a picture button, the button highlight[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls 3-10 Buttons the pen on the screen, the button becomes unhighlighted. The button tracks the pen movement as long as the user keeps pressing the pen. If the user slides the pressed pen back over the button, it is highlighted again. If the user lifts the pen while the pointer is not over the button, nothing happens. The display of [...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls Buttons 3-1 1 A button can disappear and reappear with no visual effect or with a subtle visual effect such as zoom closed and zoom open. Generally , buttons should not flash as they appear . V isual effects that attract the eye virtually compel immediate action, as if they were shouting, “T ap me now!” Button Placement 3 T [...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls 3-12 Buttons Figure 3-11 Where to put buttons in a vie w Button Spacing 3 Group text and pictur e buttons with similar functions together . Users assume buttons near each other are r elated. Generally , buttons that directly control or take action are on the right, and buttons that af fect content or appearance are on the left. S[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls Buttons 3-13 A void spacing consecutive buttons so close together that they look cramped. On an Apple MessagePad, space consecutive buttons in a group thr ee pixels apart, and leave four pixels between buttons and the view’s border . If you must, you can reduce the space between consecutive buttons to two pixels, but no less. F[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls 3-14 Close Bo xes Large Buttons 3 If a user needs to be able to tap some text buttons or picture buttons in your application with a finger instead of a pen, you can use large buttons. If your large buttons won’t fit at the bottom of a view , it’s OK to put them along one side of the view . Put them only on one side, but be [...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls Close Bo xes 3-15 Always put the Close box or large Close box in the bottom right corner of the container view it closes. Where to Use a Regular Close Bo x 3 The contents of a container view determine whether it should have a Close box or large Close box. A large Close box looks best alongside text buttons or picture buttons. A r[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls 3-16 Radio Buttons picture buttons, but do not use a lar ge Close box in a slip with an OK or Y es button. Instead, use a Cancel button (see “Naming Cancel- and Stop-Action Buttons” on page 3-5). Figure 3-16 shows where to use a lar ge Close box and where not to use one. Figure 3-16 Where to use a large Close box Radio Button[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls Radio Buttons 3-17 There are two types of radio buttons. One is a small oval that is empty if it is not selected, or is filled with solid black if it is selected. The oval radio button is labeled to the right with a word or phrase. The second type of radio button is a small picture with a bor der (unless the picture itself has a [...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls 3-18 Checkbo x es To operate a radio button the user can tap any part of it, including the text or picture that identifies it. Tapping one button in a cluster turns off whichever button was on before. A cluster of radio buttons must contain at least two items. Instead of using a single radio button, use a checkbox (see the next s[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls Checkbo x es 3-19 Figure 3-18 Each checkbo x can be on or off You can have one checkbox or as many as you need. Checkboxes are indepen- dent of one another, even when they offer related options. Any number of checkboxes can be on or off at the same time. It’s a good idea to group sets of checkboxes that are related, and to sepa[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls 3-20 Sliders the user may briefly ponder the significance of changing the checkbox’s state. For example, a checkbox in a fax routing slip lets a user select fine resolution or not. This option could be implemented with two radio buttons, perhaps labeled “Fine” and “Standard.” A user is more likely to think about all t[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls Hot Spots 3-21 Figure 3-20 A slider used for data input Hot Spots 3 Some views need to have many small, unnamed controls that r espond like buttons when tapped. For example, a view that contains a map might respond to a user tapping a place on the map by displaying information about the place tapped. These hot spots may be visibl[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls 3-22 Standard Newton Buttons Figure 3-21 Providing f eedback f or small, tr ansparent hot spots Of course, sometimes the whole point of hot spots is to make users guess where to tap. Secret hot spots would be fine in maps meant to teach geography by exploration, for example. In addition to graphical hot spots, there can be hot sp[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls Standard Newton Buttons 3-23 Other specific controls defined by the Newton system ar e described elsewher e. For descriptions of scroll arr ows and the overview button, see “Scrolling” on page 2-36and “Overview” on page 2-44. The Undo button is described in “Error Corr ection” on page 6-37. The Notify Icon is descri[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls 3-24 Standard Newton Buttons Figure 3-23 Where an Info b utton goes Recognizer Button 3 A Recognizer button lets users control the system’s recognition of handwriting and drawing. An application’s main view should have a Recognizer button to the right of the Info button on its status bar if users can write or draw in the main[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls Standard Newton Buttons 3-25 T apping a Recognizer button pops up the Recognizer picker , which is described in “User Control of Recognition” on page 6-16. For mor e information on recognition of handwriting and drawing, see “Recognition” on page 6-15. K eyboard Button 3 A Keyboard button lets users bring up an on-screen [...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls 3-26 Standard Newton Buttons Ne w Button 3 A New button lets users create a new data item and to specify the format of the item, such as a new note, checklist, or outline in the built-in Notepad application. If users can create new data items in your application, it should have a New button to the right of the Keyboard button on [...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls Standard Newton Buttons 3-27 Filing Button 3 A Filing button lets users designate a folder and a storage location (if more than one is available) for data that’s currently displayed. How much data is affected depends on wher e the Filing button is located. If the Filing button is on a status bar , it affects all the data in the[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls 3-28 Standard Newton Buttons card, the Filing button contains a small black triangle. If the item is stor ed internally , the Filing button contains nothing. Figure 3-30 compar es the two states of the Filing button. Figure 3-30 A Filing button reports where a data item is stored Action Button 3 An Action button lets users send d[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls Standard Newton Buttons 3-29 Figure 3-31 Where an Action button goes T apping an Action button pops up the Action picker , which is described on page 4-26. For general information about sending and receiving data, see Chapter 7, “Routing and Communications.” Item Inf o Button 3 The picture button at the left end of a separato[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls 3-30 Standard Newton Buttons Figure 3-32 Seeing an Item Info slip If a user scrolls an item’s separator bar out of view while its Item Info slip is displayed, the Item Info slip closes automatically and does not reopen automatically if the user scrolls the separator bar back into view . T o see the Item Info slip again, the use[...]

CHAPTER 3 Controls Standard Newton Buttons 3-31 Figure 3-33 A Rotate button lets users change the screen orientation R otate button on a MessageP ad 1 20[...]

[...]

4-1 CHAPTER 4 Pickers 4 A picker is a black-bor dered, unmovable view that pops up in r esponse to a user action, such as tapping a button, label, or hot spot. A picker contains a set of items such as commands, attributes, states, or application data. The items may be presented as a simple list, a table with r ows and columns, a numerical counter ,[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers 4-2 List Pick ers List Pickers 4 As its name suggests, a list picker presents users with a list of items fr om which to choose. This section describes the following aspects of list pickers: ■ what list pickers can contain ■ how the items can be organized ■ where list pickers can pop up ■ how people use list pickers Elemen[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers List Pick ers 4-3 A list picker does not include a title because the picker ’s context should make its purpose clear . The picker may contain scroll arr ows, a Close box, and other controls as described in “Using a List Picker” on page 4-9. Check Marks 4 A check mark ( ✔ ) has special meaning in a list picker . In a picke[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers 4-4 List Pick ers You use different parts of speech to name items in a list picker, depending on what effect they have when the user picks one. For picker items that act as commands, use verbs (or verb phrases) that declare the action that will occur when the user picks the item. For example, Duplicate means “Duplicate the curr[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers List Pick ers 4-5 Figure 4-2 A list pick er can contain a two-dimensional tab le of items Unav ailable Items 4 An application may need to make some of a list picker ’s items available only in certain contexts. T o make items unavailable, an application should remove them from the picker . For example, the Date Book application [...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers 4-6 List Pick ers Applications should not attempt to imitate the interface of personal computers by dimming unavailable picker items. Although applications can designate picker items as unselectable, the system does not display them in gray text or otherwise make them visibly differ ent from selectable items. Newton picker items [...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers List Pick ers 4-7 Figure 4-4 Grouping items in list pick ers For general grouping of items in a picker , you should only use a dotted separator line, never a solid separator line. The solid separator line is reserved for setting apart choices r elated to storage, such as the names of available card stor es and the internal store,[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers 4-8 List Pick ers Figure 4-5 Pick ers can pop up from buttons , labels, and hot spots For picker control at the bottom of a view or on the status bar , use text or picture buttons. Elsewhere in a view , label pickers usually look best. P osition of List Pic k ers 4 A list picker that pops up from a button or text label should app[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers List Pick ers 4-9 Figure 4-6 How a list pic ker should align with its label or b utton If you want your application to work when a user rotates the display (with the Extras Drawer ’s Rotate button), your application may need to make picker alignment dependent on screen size. Using a List Pic k er 4 A user makes a list picker po[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers 4-10 List Pick ers Figure 4-7 Using a list pick er from a button In the case of a list picker that pops up next to a text label, the current value of the picker (the most recently picked item) is usually displayed next to the picker label. The label and the value are customarily aligned at their baselines. The value should be dis[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers List Pick ers 4-11 If a user touches a picker list and slides the pen instead of lifting it, the picker tracks the pen movement. As the pen appears over an item in the list, the item is highlighted. When the user lifts the pen within the list, the currently high- lighted item blinks briefly, the picker disappears, and the effect [...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers 4-12 List Pick ers Scrolling 4 A list picker may contain too many items to display at once on some Newton devices. This can happen when a user rotates the display (by tapping the Rotate button in the Extras Drawer). It can also happen if a user adds many items to a customizable picker , such as a folder picker . When a list picke[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers List Pick ers 4-13 Scrolling pickers ar e harder to use than pickers that don’t scr oll, because users have to remember the picker items that ar en’t currently visible. Y ou should keep your pickers short and avoid scrolling pickers in your applications. Inde x T abs 4 If the list of picker items is very long, scrolling fr om[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers 4-14 List Pick ers Hierarchical List Pic k ers 4 If a list of picker items is extremely long, index tabs won’t be enough to prevent interminable scr olling. What happens is a user taps a tab and immediately sees the beginning of the corresponding section of picker items, but the user still must scroll several times to find an [...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers List Pick ers 4-15 Figure 4-11 How a two-le v el hierarch y of list pic kers works 3 . T apping an i tem in the s econd-lev el p icker and then t apping the Close b ox… 2. P ops up the second-lev el picke r 4. Lists the corresponding items in the first-lev el pick er . 1 . T apping the d iamond label in t he first-lev el p ic[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers 4-16 Number Pick er Number Picker 4 A number picker displays a number that a user can change by tapping the digits of the number itself. The digits are lar ge and are split into top and bottom halves to make them easy for users to target. T apping the top half of a digit increases it, and tapping the bottom half of a digit decr e[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers Date and Time Pic kers 4-17 Date and T ime Pickers 4 The system includes pickers for specifying a time, a date, a date and time, a start and stop time, a start and stop date, or a time offset. Each of these pickers pops up when a user taps its label, which begins with a diamond. Then the user can specify a date or time by tapping[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers 4-18 Date and Time Pic kers Figure 4-14 Date pick ers specify one date or a date range P icking another m onth (or “ T oday”) changes t he calendar T apping a date s elects it S crolling changes t he calendar Picking another duration changes the stop date T apping a Close b ox accepts the s elected date T apping the top or b [...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers Overview Pic kers 4-19 Overview Pickers 4 Like list pickers, overview pickers can pop up in response to a user tapping a text label or button marked with a black diamond, a picture button, or a hot spot. And overview pickers, like list pickers, are used to pr esent a user with items from which to choose. That’s about wher e the[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers 4-20 Overview Pic kers Figure 4-15 The par ts of overview pic kers In most cases, your application is not responsible for the wor ding, punctua- tion, or capitalization of items in either column of an overview picker . Nor is your application responsible for the or der of the items. The items ar e generally taken directly fr om s[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers Overview Pic kers 4-21 Using an Ov er vie w Pic k er 4 A user makes an overview picker appear by tapping the appropriate label. The picker stays open until the user taps its Close box. The user does not have to press and hold the pen on the button or label to keep the picker open. An overview picker stays open even if a user taps[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers 4-22 Overview Pic kers Figure 4-16 Entering a new value in an o v er view pic ker When a user closes an overview picker, the selected item or items are customarily displayed next to the picker label. The label and the value are customarily aligned at their baselines. The value should be displayed in the casual font, not in the sy[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers Standard Newton Pic kers 4-23 Users can also scroll overview pickers with the universal scr oll arrows. In addition, users can scroll overview pickers by dragging fr om the middle of the picker past the top or bottom of the picker . Creating New Items 4 When the item a user wants is not included in an overview picker , the user d[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers 4-24 Standard Newton Pic kers Inf o Pic k er 4 The Info picker pops up from the standar d Info button at the left end of the status bar and gives users access to prefer ence settings for the application, general information about the application, or on-screen help for the application. The Info picker contain any of these general-[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers Standard Newton Pic kers 4-25 Choosing Help from an Info picker displays online help for the application. For more information, see “Help” on page 8-28. Choosing Prefs fr om an Info picker displays a slip containing application- specific prefer ence settings. For more information, see “Application Prefer ences” on page 8[...]

Show Pic ker 4 The Show picker lists alternative views for displaying data in an application, such as the Card view and All Info view in the built-in Names File applica- tion. In an application that supports Newton stationery , the Show picker lists all the available views for types of data that the application uses. The active view has a check mar[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers Standard Newton Pic kers 4-27 Figure 4-20 The Action pick er lists commands f or acting on data Picking a routing command fr om an Action picker starts the r outing process, which is detailed in Chapter 7, “Routing and Communications.” Picking the Duplicate command, if the Action picker includes one, makes an exact copy of th[...]

CHAPTER 4 Pick ers 4-28 Standard Newton Pic kers Figure 4-21 A P eople pic ker e xcerpts items from the Names File and Owner Info applications Names only Names and associated data[...]

Designing Eff ective Icons 5-1 CHAPTER 5 Icons 5 This chapter describes how to design icons— those small pictographs that repr esent objects or actions in the Newton interface. T opics covered include: ■ Designing effective icons ■ Extras Drawer icons ■ Icons in titles ■ Icons in buttons ■ Icons in pickers Designing Ef fective Icons 5 T[...]

CHAPTER 5 Icons 5-2 Designing Eff ective Icons Thinking Up an Icon Image 5 An icon is like the proverbial pictur e that’s worth a thousand words only if it clearly identifies what it repr esents. Coming up with a tiny , grainy , black-and- white visual image that is even relevant, let alone unambiguous, can be difficult. Far mor e of us have le[...]

CHAPTER 5 Icons Designing Eff ective Icons 5-3 deleting. Thinking of an object that is repr esentative of the function of your icon is the key to good conceptual design. Remember that for every image you generate, you need to consider the advantages and disadvantages of the idea in regar d to your audience before deciding on the final design. Mak [...]

CHAPTER 5 Icons 5-4 Designing Eff ective Icons that display only black and white (no shades of gray or colors), particularly in the smaller icon sizes. Newton icons do not have drop shadows. Ther e is no assumed light source to create an artificial shadow . A void T e xt in Icons 5 A void using text in your icons whenever possible. T ext in icons [...]

CHAPTER 5 Icons Designing Eff ective Icons 5-5 Figure 5-3 Small icon resembles large icon Use Icons Consistently 5 Use icons consistently throughout your application. If ther e is an existing design for an icon, use it. Don’t invent new designs for icons that have a standard design, such as the icons for printing, faxing, beaming, mailing, duplic[...]

CHAPTER 5 Icons 5-6 Extras Dra wer Icons Think About Multicultural Compatibility 5 Y our icons should be designed with multicultural use in mind. For example, to localize an icon for outgoing communications, you might consider using the design of a mailbox. But if you did, you would have to design a differ ent icon for every country in which your p[...]

CHAPTER 5 Icons Extras Dra wer Icons 5-7 spacing comfortable between neighboring icons? How can the icon animate to make it inviting to use? Figure 5-5 illustrates some guidelines to consider when designing icons for the Extras Drawer . Figure 5-5 The good, the bad, and the ugly in Extras Dra wer icons[...]

CHAPTER 5 Icons 5-8 Extras Dra wer Icons Extras Dr a wer Icon Size 5 T o maximize the number of icons visible at once, the Extras Drawer puts very little space between the icons in it. An application icon will be easier to recognize if it does not occupy all the space available to it in the Extras Drawer . Icons that fill their entire allotted spa[...]

CHAPTER 5 Icons Extras Dra wer Icons 5-9 Extras Dr a wer Icon Shape 5 Icons for Newton applications generally should not look like icons for desktop computer applications. Boxy icons are common on desktop computers, wher e colors and shades of gray can distinguish one icon from another . In the Newton Extras Drawer , boxy black-and-white icons look[...]

CHAPTER 5 Icons 5-10 Extras Dra wer Icons When a user selects an icon, the Extras Drawer creates the selected form of the icon by combining the unselected form of the icon with the icon’s mask. The Extras Drawer uses the same method to animate one icon as it uses to highlight another . The design of the mask determines how the selected form of an[...]

CHAPTER 5 Icons Title Icons 5-1 1 Figure 5-8 Combining an icon with its mask to animate the icon If you don’t provide a mask for your application’s icon, the Extras Drawer automatically creates one that is an all-black shadow of the icon. An all-black shadow mask combines with an icon to create a highlighted form of the icon. T itle Icons 5 An [...]

CHAPTER 5 Icons 5-12 Button Icons Button Icons 5 Y ou can use an icon to label a button. For example, the Action button and the Filing button have icons as labels. The button may have a border or not, depending on the icon design and the button location (see “Picture Buttons” on page 3-7). Figure 5-10 shows a few buttons with icons as labels. F[...]

CHAPTER 5 Icons Icons in a Pick er 5-13 ■ Icons increase the size of a picker , not only in width but also in height. The larger a picker , the more it obscures what’s beneath it. ■ If you have one icon in a picker , you have to make companions for the other picker items. It can be hard enough to state the name or function of each picker item[...]

CHAPTER 5 Icons 5-14 Icons in a Pick er The standard Newton pickers automatically align each icon with its text at their vertical midpoints. If you want to adjust the centering—visually balancing the icon as opposed to mathematically centering it—you can include white pixels at the top or bottom of the icon.[...]

Input Fields 6-1 CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6 Although some applications for Newton devices only present information to people, many applications gather data from people as well. A person can input information in a Newton application by ■ T apping and dragging to select an input from a list or range of options provided by the application ■ W riting a[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-2 Input Fields Figure 6-1 Users enter and edit data in input fields Align field labels in neat columns, and be consistent in how you align field values with field labels (including picker labels). Line up every field’s label with the field’s displayed value, or line up every field’s label with the dotted line on w[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input T apping 6-3 T apping 6 People can quickly and accurately input data that an application presents in a multiple-choice format such as a picker , scrolling list, set of checkboxes, cluster of radio buttons, or slider . A user simply taps or drags to choose an input value from the options pr esented. Pic k ers 6 Pickers allow a u[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-4 T apping Figure 6-2 How a pic ker w orks for data input For more information on pickers, see Chapter 4, “Pickers.” Scrolling Lists and T ab les 6 Like a picker , a scrolling list is a list of items from which a user selects a field value. A scrolling list does not usually show its whole list of items at once, but a use[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input T apping 6-5 Figure 6-3 Data input using scrolling lists with or without checkbo x es If a scrolling list uses local scr oll arrows, they should only appear when the list is long enough to requir e scrolling. Use conventional black and white scroll arr ows like those used in a Find slip when the Where option is set to Selected [...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-6 T apping A scrolling list is not the best way to input one value across a range of values. Since the full range isn’t visible all at once in a scrolling list, users have a hard time understanding the scope of their choices. Pickers work well for listing discontinuous values across a range, such as 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 [...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input T apping 6-7 Chec kbo x es 6 For a field that can have one or more of a few unchanging values, an applica- tion can use a set of checkboxes. Figure 6-5 shows a set of checkboxes. Figure 6-5 With checkbo x es, a user can select more than one v alue f or a field A user can select any number of checkboxes by tapping them one by [...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-8 Writing, Drawing, and Editing W riting, Drawing, and Editing 6 In some places users can’t be restricted to multiple-choice input methods. They must be able to input their own text or shapes (pictures). The Newton interface includes several elements in which users can write text or draw pictures. Some of these interface el[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input Writing, Drawing, and Editing 6-9 ■ Editing Let users edit text — select, delete, copy-and-paste, duplicate, and move. ■ Formatting Let users format individual words and characters in several differ ent fonts, styles, and sizes. Where ther e is space to write paragraphs of text (not just single lines), the text input elem[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-10 Writing, Drawing, and Editing Labeled Input Line 6 A labeled input line consists of a simple input line with a text label at its left. Optionally this label can have a pop-up picker that lists common values, and a user can choose one to save the effort of writing it. As usual, a diamond at the beginning of a label indicate[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input Writing, Drawing, and Editing 6-1 1 T e xt Input Lines that Expand 6 Y ou can reduce the amount of space requir ed for several stacked input lines in your application by using expanding input lines, which are called expandos. Each expando consists of a text label to the left and a text value to its right. When a user taps an ex[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-12 Writing, Drawing, and Editing P ar agraph Input 6 Another interface element accepts the input of multiple lines or paragraphs of text. This interface element can appear simply as a blank area in which a user can write information, but usually it contains one or more horizontal dotted lines, like lined writing paper . These[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input Writing, Drawing, and Editing 6-13 Figure 6-11 A user can rearrange a structured list by dragging topic markers Shape Input 6 There is one interface element for the input of geometric shapes. It can be a blank area in which users can draw , or it can contain dotted lines to cue users that the area accepts input. Figur e 6-12 sh[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-14 Writing, Drawing, and Editing Figure 6-12 Interface element f or shape input ■ Editing Let users edit shapes — select, delete, copy-and-paste, duplicate, reshape, r esize, and move. ■ Formatting Let users set the line thickness of individual shapes and shape segments. General Input 6 The one interface element for gen[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input Writing, Drawing, and Editing 6-15 Figure 6-13 Interface element f or gener al input Recognition 6 The Newton operating system is able to recognize handwriting, printing, and drawing, transforming it into typeset, editable text or editable geometric shapes. The Newton system can also recognize a common set of pen gestur es for [...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-16 Writing, Drawing, and Editing Y ou don’t need to do anything in your application to handle ordinary recog- nition. The Newton system’s input interface elements handle recognition of writing and drawing, including a method for users to correct misr ecognized words. For example, when a user writes a wor d on a labeled in[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input Writing, Drawing, and Editing 6-17 The Recognizer picker lists the type of recognition options that ar e appr opriate for the type of input users can make. If users can only write text, the recognizer should only include text-recognition options—T ext and Ink T ext. If users can only draw shapes, the recognizer should only in[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-18 Writing, Drawing, and Editing Def erred Recognition 6 A user can defer text recognition by selecting Ink T ext from a Recognizer picker . While recognition is set to Ink T ext, the Newton system recognizes word boundaries but does not r ecognize words, letters, numbers, or symbols themselves. Later a user can double-tap in[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input Writing, Drawing, and Editing 6-19 an Alpha Sorter picker if a user writes ink text in the Name field (which determines the card’s sequence). If your application simply sorts ink text with recognized text, the ink text comes before the r ecognized text that comes first alphabetically . Figure 6-16 In an Alpha Sor ter picker[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-20 Writing, Drawing, and Editing No matter how you have configured r ecognition for a text field, users can input the wrong type of text if they try har d enough. For example, a user may manage to input numbers where wor ds are the pr oper type of input. This happens because every kind of text recognition uses the built-in [...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input Writing, Drawing, and Editing 6-21 ■ Recognize punctuation marks. Preceding a wor d: single quotation mark, double quotation mark, left parenthesis, or hyphen. Following a wor d: single quotation mark, double quotation mark, right parenthesis, hyphen, period, comma, exclamation point, question mark, colon, or semicolon. ■ F[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-22 Writing, Drawing, and Editing ■ Remove extra space from paragraphs ■ Duplicate text or shapes ■ Change shapes ■ Move objects The techniques people use for these editing actions are described in the next 12 sections (ending with “Moving Objects” on page 6-32). T o make these editing actions available in your app[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input Writing, Drawing, and Editing 6-23 Figure 6-17 Selecting words and shapes A user can extend a selection or select more objects by drawing additional highlighting marks. If they are far apart, the user may select one at a time. Selected objects do not have to be adjacent, but all selected objects must be in the same input area. [...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-24 Writing, Drawing, and Editing objects that the user has not selected may appear within the borders of the gray selection box, but only the selected objects are highlighted. Erasing T e xt or Shapes 6 T o erase text or shapes, a user scrubs them out with zigzag gestures. Immediately after scrubbing, the user hears a poof so[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input Writing, Drawing, and Editing 6-25 Figure 6-19 Scrubbing a little or a lot The effect of scrubbing may be dif fer ent if a user first selects several objects. If a user selects several objects, contiguous or not, and then scrubs over all or any part of the selected objects, all the selected objects are deleted. Unselected obje[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-26 Writing, Drawing, and Editing Joining W ords 6 T o join words, a user draws a V between them at their baselines, as shown in Figure 6-20. Figure 6-20 Joining two words Breaking P ar agraphs 6 T o break one paragraph into two, a user draws a backwards L at the desired breaking point, as shown in Figur e 6-21. Figure 6-21 Br[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input Writing, Drawing, and Editing 6-27 Figure 6-22 Inser ting space in text Inser ting New T e xt 6 When a caret is displayed in an input ar ea, it marks the point where the Newton system will insert newly written words. No matter wher e a user writes in the input area, the Newton system inserts the text at the car et. It doesn’t[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-28 Writing, Drawing, and Editing A user can move the caret simply by tapping the screen at the desir ed location. Users always know and control exactly wher e their writing goes. The caret is not displayed if a user turns of f the “Insert new words at car et” option in the Handwriting Recognition section of the built-in P[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input Writing, Drawing, and Editing 6-29 Replacing T e xt 6 By extending the method for inserting text, a user can replace existing text. Instead of tapping to position the caret, the user drags the highlighting mark to select the text to replace. Then the user writes the r eplacement text anywhere on the scr een and the selected tex[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-30 Writing, Drawing, and Editing with which the user can type corrections. T apping the Corrector button brings up a Corrector view , in which the user can make corrections to individual letters. The user can write over a letter to replace it, delete a letter by scrubbing it, or insert a space in which to write an additional [...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input Writing, Drawing, and Editing 6-31 Changing Capitalization of T e xt 6 T o change how a word is capitalized, a user selects the word and then draws a vertical line over it. Drawing the line in an upward dir ection over the first letter of the word capitalizes that letter . Drawing the line upward over the middle of the word ca[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-32 T yping Moving Objects 6 A user can move an object—text, ink text, sketch, shape, or a combination of them—by selecting the object and then dragging it to another part of the same input area or to another visible input ar ea. The user can also drag the selected object to the top, left, or right edge of the screen, wher[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input T yping 6-33 Displa ying K e yboards 6 There ar e several ways users can display a keyboard. One is to double-tap any blank space in a text-input area. Another is to double-tap a word to bring up a Correction picker and then tap the keyboar d in that picker (as described under “Correcting Misr ecognized T ext” on page 6-29)[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-34 T yping Figure 6-29 A ke yboard can be embedded in a data-input slip K eyboard P osition 6 When a user brings up a keyboard it should appear center ed above the status bar , floating above other views. If possible, the keyboard should be situated vertically where it does not cover the text-insertion car et. A user can mov[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input T yping 6-35 Retur n 6 In a field that allows entering multiple lines of text, the return key inserts a carriage return at the text-insertion car et. It ends the current paragraph and moves the caret to the beginning of the next line. In a field that allows entering one line of text, the return key moves the car et to the nex[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-36 T yping and other nonalphabetic keys. The caps key locks on when tapped and stays on until tapped again; even closing a keyboard does not turn of f the caps key . Option 6 The option key changes the character produced by the next tap on a character key to produce a set of international characters and special symbols. For e[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input Error Handling 6-37 When a user holds the pen on a key for a certain amount of time, the system acts as if the user were r epeatedly tapping that key . This feature, called auto-repeat, affects character keys and modifier keys alike. Auto-r epeat does not function during type-ahead. It operates only when the Newton system is r[...]

CHAPTER 6 Data Input 6-38 Error Handling When a user initiates an action that can’t be undone and could be very difficult to r everse by hand, your application should warn the user and give the user a chance to cancel the action. For example, if a user is about to change a lot of text with a search-and-r eplace operation that can’t be undone, [...]

7-1 CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7 The Newton system provides a standar d user interface for sending and receiving data by several communications methods, called transports. Most Newton systems come with transports for printing, faxing, beaming, and e-mailing. Y ou can develop additional transports that users can install and remove at will,[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-2 The In/Out Bo x ■ How users route incoming data items ■ When and how transports should display status information ■ When and how transports should allow users to stop an ongoing transfer of data items ■ How transports should provide user pr eference settings ■ What alternative routing methods ar e [...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications The In/Out Bo x 7-3 Figure 7-1 The In/Out Bo x application displays either the In Bo x or the Out Box The In Bo x 7 The In Box is where a user first sees and deals with incoming faxes, e-mail, beamed items, and other data items received by Newton transport softwar e. Users can view many types of incoming data i[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-4 The In/Out Bo x The Out Bo x 7 The Out Box holds data items coming from all applications and waiting to be printed, faxed, beamed, e-mailed, or sent by other Newton transport software. Items in the Out Box stay ther e until a user physically connects the Newton to a suitable output device and chooses to send[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications The In/Out Bo x 7-5 Vie wing Items in the In/Out Bo x 7 Users can see more than just header information for some types of items in the In/Out Box. For example, the In/Out Box can show a page preview of print and fax items. It can also show item detail in views based on templates that other applications provide. [...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-6 The In/Out Bo x If applications provide multiple view templates for the type of data curr ently on display in the In/Out Box application, the In/Out Box includes a Show button and picker , so users can choose among the available views. For example, when a Names File item is displayed in the In/Out Box, the S[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications Routing Outgoing Items 7-7 Figure 7-3 Viewing routing inf ormation in an Item Info slip Routing Outgoing Items 7 There ar e several steps involved in sending an item from an application through the Out Box to an output device. First, a user chooses a r outing action from an Action picker . Next, the user supplie[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-8 Routing Outgoing Items Action Button and Pic k er 7 Users can send items from any application that has an Action button, which is a picture button that looks like the back of an envelope. T o send the currently selected data item, a user picks a r outing action from the Action picker that pops up when the us[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications Routing Outgoing Items 7-9 An Action Button’ s Location 7 The scope of an Action button determines where it should be located. If an Action button can affect all the data in a view , it should go at the bottom right corner of the view , next to the view’s Close box. For example, the main view of the Names Fi[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-10 Routing Outgoing Items In a view where an Action button can only affect one data item of several that may be displayed (perhaps by scr olling the view), there should be an Action button above each item, at the right side of the view . Generally , such a view has a separator bar above each data item, and an [...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications Routing Outgoing Items 7-1 1 Figure 7-7 An Action pick er can include two kinds of actions Note that the first action listed in an Action picker has the name of the target item appended to it (for example, “Print Note”). Other actions listed in the same picker do not have the name of the target item appende[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-12 Routing Outgoing Items In addition to putting transports and transport groups at the top of an Action picker , the system puts application-defined actions at the bottom of the picker . An application can define actions that appear in all its Action pickers. It can also define a differ ent set of actions [...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications Routing Outgoing Items 7-13 Figure 7-8 A routing slip shows sender , recipient, and type of transpor t The system animates the display of a routing slip. First the envelope panel appears to slide onto the screen fr om the right. Then the lower panel appears to slide out of the envelope. A routing slip is part of[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-14 Routing Outgoing Items Figure 7-9 Changing the sender’ s name or location The Sender picker lists the owner names and worksites that have been entered in the built-in Owner Info application. The last item in the Sender picker , Other City , brings up a picker from which a user can choose another city. Cho[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications Routing Outgoing Items 7-15 Recipient Pick ers 7 The kind of recipient information displayed in the center of a r outing slip envelope depends on the kind of transport involved. For printing, the recipient is the model or name of the printer to use. For faxing or e-mail, the recipient is a name and fax number or[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-16 Routing Outgoing Items Figure 7-10 Choosing a printer in a routing slip Choosing F ax or E-mail Recipients 7 The recipient in a fax or e-mail r outing slip is a picker label. T apping it pops up a picker that lists names a user has recently chosen, along with an Other Names item. The user can select a recip[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications Routing Outgoing Items 7-17 copy) field identifies recipients whose names and addr esses are hidden fr om T o and Cc recipients. Figure 7-1 1 illustrates the process of choosing fax or e-mail recipients. Figure 7-11 Choosing fax or e-mail recipients in a routing slip The transport deter mines the type of addre[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-18 Routing Outgoing Items The very first time a user taps the r ecipient in a fax or e-mail routing slip, the picker that lists recently used names does not appear because no names have been used yet. Instead, a People picker appears immediately , listing possible recipients fr om the Names File. T ranspor t P[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications Routing Outgoing Items 7-19 T o the left of the Close box is a text button labeled with the name of the routing action.T apping this text button, which is known as the Send button, closes the routing slip, but with dif ferent animation than the Close box. First the lower panel slides up, as if it were going into[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-20 Routing Outgoing Items Other Routing Slip Elements 7 A routing slip’s lower panel may have additional controls and pickers that affect what is sent and how it is sent. The system includes a Format picker if there is mor e than one format for the class of data being sent. A transport may include additional[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications Routing Outgoing Items 7-21 Figure 7-14 Format choices vary by transport and class of data Although a transport specifies most items in its routing slip, it does not determine which formats to list in a Format picker . The system builds a Format picker each time it displays a routing slip, and it determines whi[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-22 Routing Outgoing Items Each application defines routing formats for its classes of data and r egisters the formats with the system. T ypically , an application defines several routing formats so that users have a choice of routing actions. For example, an application might define two formats for printing[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications Routing Outgoing Items 7-23 Each time a routing slip opens, the system initially sets the format to the format most recently used for the transport and class of data. If the class of data has never been routed thr ough the transport before, the system makes the initially selected format the first format it fin[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-24 Routing Incoming Items Sending Out Bo x Items 7 Items a user chooses to send later (as described in “Send Button and Close Box” on page 7-18) wait in the Out Box until the user is ready to have the transports transfer the items out of the Newton device. At that time the user connects the Newton to an ou[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications Routing Incoming Items 7-25 Receiving In Bo x Items 7 T o receive items, a user can pick a routing action fr om the In Box’s Receive picker , which pops up when the user taps the Receive button. The Receive picker lists all Newton transports capable of receiving data items fr om external sources. Figur e 7-18 [...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-26 Routing Incoming Items Figure 7-19 Connection setup varies by tr anspor t A transport can also allow users to schedule times when it automatically connects and receives incoming items. Users schedule connect times by setting prefer ences in the In/Out Box application, as described in “T ransport Prefer en[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications Routing Incoming Items 7-27 action from the T ag picker , which pops up when the user taps the T ag button. The T ag picker lists only actions that apply to at least one of the selected items. Figure 7-20 shows a sample T ag button and T ag picker . Figure 7-20 The T ag picker disposes of currently selected In B[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-28 Routing Incoming Items of the built-in applications registers to accept page-image data like faxes, and the built-in fax transport does not include a method for putting away items it receives, so the T ag picker does not include a Put A way action when a user selects only faxes in the In Box. The T ag picke[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications Routing Status 7-29 Extending the T ag Pick er 7 A transport can add actions to the T ag picker . For example, an e-mail transport might add the actions Reply and Forward so users could r eply to and forward r eceived e-mail directly fr om the In Box. The built-in transports define the following action items: R[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-30 Routing Status Figure 7-21 Status slips apprise users of lengthy transport activities[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications Stopping a Send or Receive in Prog ress 7-31 T ransports can dynamically switch from one type of status slip to another without closing the status slip, and can easily update the contents of the status slip as well (for example, updating a progr ess indicator). All transports that use the standard status slips h[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-32 T ranspor t Preferences T ransport Prefer ences 7 The Newton system stores user -configurable prefer ences and other configura- tion information for the built-in transports, and can do the same for custom transports. The stored pr eferences corr espond to items in a pr eferences slip for each transport. U[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications T ranspor t Preferences 7-33 Figure 7-23 Some common preference items f or tr anspor ts A transport’s preferences slip can include other items, such as buttons. For example, the fax prefer ences slip includes a button for scheduling automatic fax sending times and another button for setting the Newton to recei[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-34 Routing Alternatives A preferences slip can also include an Info button in the lower left corner . T apping it pops up an Info picker that lists at least the one item Help. Generally , picking Help from this Info picker simply displays the system help book, open to the routing section. A transport can add m[...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications Routing Alternatives 7-35 Another way users can route items thr ough most transports is with the Intelligent Assistant. In addition, applications can route items pr ogram- matically . These two routing methods ar e described in more detail in the remainder of this section. Routing b y Intelligent Assistant 7 In [...]

CHAPTER 7 Routing and Communications 7-36 Routing Alternatives Progr ammed Sending 7 An application can send an item programmatically , using a specific transport, without any user intervention. (The Action button is not used in this case.) For example, an application might have a transport make a connection when- ever a user opens the application[...]

8-1 CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8 This chapter describes the user interface for Newton system services not described in other chapters. T opics include: ■ How the system automatically indicates it is busy ■ How your application or transport can allow users to hide and show status slips ■ What your application should do if it schedules alarms or[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-2 A utomatic Busy Cursor Automatic Busy Cursor 8 The system lets users know when it is temporarily busy and may be unable to respond to their input by displaying a small graphic, called the busy cursor , at the top of the screen. Y our application or transport does not need to do anything to benefit from this feedback; [...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services Notify Button and Pick er 8-3 Figure 8-2 The Notify button signals an ongoing action or def erred alert If your application displays a status slip with a Close box while it performs a lengthy action, and a user taps the Close box, your application should register the ongoing action with the Notify service. The system will [...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-4 Alarms When a user chooses an action or alert from the Notify picker , the Notify service automatically removes the chosen item fr om the picker . If your application or transport completes an action listed in the Notify picker , it must remove the action fr om the Notify picker by unregistering the action with the Not[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services Alarms 8-5 The Snooze button is optional. Y our application can use a plain notification alert without a Snooze button (see “Notification Alerts” on page 2-17) or no notification alert at all. Unac kno wledged Alarms 8 Y our application does not have to do anything to handle alarms that a user does not acknowledge. [...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-6 Sound A user sets the volume of alarm sounds in the Alarm section of the Pr efs application. Y our application should not change the alarm volume set by the user . Sound 8 Y our application can easily associate a sound with a system event or play sound on demand. Each sound can be played synchronously , so that other t[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services Find 8-7 Figure 8-5 A standard Find slip specifies what to find and where to look The standard Find slip contains a labeled input line used to specify a sear ch criterion and several radio buttons used to specify the scope of the search. The labeled input line has a picker for specifying the kind of search to perform—a[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-8 Find Date Searches 8 Date searches find items dated befor e, after , or on the date specified in the Find slip. T o specify a date, a user taps the date shown in the Find slip. This pops up a standard Date picker , as shown in Figure 8-7. Figure 8-7 Specifying a date in a Find slip The Scope of a Search 8 The system-[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services Find 8-9 the system is to conduct a search. The Find slip in Figur e 8-8 depicts a search for the word “Daphne” in the Notepad and Dates applications. Figure 8-8 Searching specified applications Normally the Find service searches applications in their entir ety , but the currently active application can separate its d[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-10 Find Keep in mind that a user may need to scroll among found items while the Find slip is displayed; therefor e, when customizing or replacing this slip, avoid making it so large that it obscur es the display of the found items. Figure 8-9 shows a sample application named Checkbook that adds a labeled input line with [...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services Find 8-1 1 Initiating or Canceling a Search 8 After using the Find slip to specify the search criteria, a user initiates the search by tapping the Find button. Alternatively , the user can cancel the search by tapping the Close box to dismiss the Find slip. Search Status 8 While a search executes, the system r eports its p[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-12 Find Figure 8-11 A Find ov er view lists items that match search criteria A user can alternately hide and reveal the names of items listed under an application in the Find overview by tapping the application name there. T apping the name of an item in the Find overview displays a detail view of the item. The Find slip[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services Filing 8-13 Figure 8-12 The Find slip repor ts which found item is currently displa y ed If more than one item was found, tapping the universal down arr ow goes to the next found item, and tapping the universal up arrow goes to the previous found item. T apping the Overview button redisplays the overview of found items. Be[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-14 Filing Filed data items look to a user like they are in folders, but filed items do not actually reside in a folder or dir ectory structur e. Instead, the Filing service tags a filed item to identify the folder in which it belongs. When a user wishes to see an application’s data items belonging to a particular fol[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services Filing 8-15 The filing options that a user selects in a Filing slip apply to the data in the view that contains the Filing button. If the view contains multiple data items that can be individually selected, such as the items listed in an overview , then the filing options selected by the user apply to the currently selec[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-16 Filing In a view where a Filing button can af fect only one data item of several that may be displayed in the view (perhaps by scr olling the view), there should be a Filing button above each item, at the right side of the view . Generally such a view has a separator bar above each data item, and a Filing button shoul[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services Filing 8-17 Figure 8-16 A Filing slip can include storage locations, f olders , or both A Filing slip should open with the current folder and storage location selected. Y our application can override this behavior if it cannot determine a useful initial filing state, such as when a user has selected multiple items for fi[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-18 Filing In addition to radio buttons for selecting filing options, all Filing slips have a File button for initiating the filing operation and a large Close box for canceling the filing operation. Editing F olders 8 If a Filing slip contains radio buttons for selecting a folder , the slip also includes New and Edit [...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services Filing 8-19 Figure 8-17 Slips for entering and editing f older names Users can create up to 12 folders visible everywher e and 12 more folders specific to each application. The system does not permit an application-specific folder to have the same name as a folder that is visible everywhere. F older T ab 8 If a view has [...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-20 Filing Figure 8-18 A folder tab allo ws users to filter a view b y f older At the bottom of a Folder picker , below a solid separator line, your application can have the system list available storage locations. This allows a user to specify a storage location in addition to a folder from which to display items. The s[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services Filing 8-21 A variation on the plain folder tab includes a digital clock and calendar that a user can tap to display the built-in Clock application. Figure 8-20 illustrates a folder tab with clock calendar . Figure 8-20 A folder tab can include a digital cloc k and calendar Instead of a digital clock and calendar , your ap[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-22 Intelligent Assistant Intelligent Assistant 8 The Intelligent Assistant is a system service that attempts to complete actions specified by a user ’s written input. Y ou can think of the Assistant as an alternate interface to Newton applications and services. The Assistant can complete a number of tasks using the bu[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services Intelligent Assistant 8-23 Figure 8-22 The Assist button mak es the Assistant tr y a written action request Inter preting the Request Phrase 8 The Assistant can attempt to complete an action only if it can construe one from the phrase the user writes or selects befor e tapping the Assist button. The Assistant is pre-pr ogr[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-24 Intelligent Assistant The Assistant matches words r egar dless of their capitalization. For example, it considers the word “phone” to be the same as the wor d “Phone.” The order in which a user writes wor ds is not significant. For example, the phrase “Royce fax” produces the same r esult as the phrase ?[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services Intelligent Assistant 8-25 Figure 8-23 An Assist slip appears when the Assistant needs more information An Assist slip’s Please picker lists the actions that applications have currently register ed with it, as well as eight phrases the Assistant has tried to interpr et recently . Figure 8-24 shows a sample Please picker [...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-26 Intelligent Assistant Figure 8-24 The Assistant’ s Please pic ker lists kno wn actions and recent phrases The built-in tasks that the Assistant lists in the Please picker include calling, faxing, finding, mailing, printing, remembering T o Do items, scheduling meetings, and getting time information from the T ime Z[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services Intelligent Assistant 8-27 In addition to the Please picker and an input line, an Assist slip has a How Do I? button in the lower left corner for accessing the Newton online help service (see “Help” on page 8-28). In the lower right corner of an Assist slip are a Do button for initiating the action specified in the sl[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-28 Help Besides providing a means of corr ecting missing or ambiguous information, a task slip also gives a user one last chance to confirm or cancel execution of the task before the Assistant actually takes action. It’s especially important to provide this opportunity to confirm, modify , or cancel the task if execu[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services Help 8-29 Users can also access the built-in help by choosing Help from the Info picker in any built-in application. When accessed through an Info picker , the help overview appears with the appropriate outline topic alr eady expanded. Likewise, your application gives users access to its online help through its Info picker[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-30 Pref erences Pr efer ences 8 Users can see and change two types of prefer ence settings: system-wide and application-specific. System-wide Pref erences 8 A user accesses system-wide preferences thr ough the built-in Pr efs application. Its main view lists prefer ence categories, and tapping a category displays a slip[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services Pref erences 8-31 Application Pref erences 8 Applications provide access to their pr eference settings thr ough the Info picker (see “Info Picker” on page 4-24). When a user chooses Prefs fr om an Info picker , the application displays a prefer ences slip in which the user can see and change application-specific prefe[...]

CHAPTER 8 Newton Services 8-32 Pref erences Prefer ences should be settings that users change infrequently . If you provide choices to users that they will change many times while working with your application, you should implement those choices with a button and picker on the status bar or some other interface element to which users have easy acce[...]

A-1 APPENDIX A voiding Common Mistakes A This appendix summarizes what you should do to avoid the top 20 user interface mistakes. Inf o Button A Use the Info button—with the “i” icon—and its picker for information options such as Help, About, and Prefs. Always place the Info button at the far left end of the status bar unless your applicati[...]

APPENDIX A v oiding Common Mistak es A-2 Pic k er Placement and Alignment A Align the top of a picker with the top of its button or label. Make exceptions for overview pickers, for other very wide or very tall pickers, or for small screens. See page 4-8. Display a picker so its button or label is at least partially visible, and keep the button or l[...]

APPENDIX A v oiding Common Mistak es A-3 Button Size A Make every text button 13 pixels high and center the button’s name vertically . Make the button just wide enough that with the button’s name horizontally centered ther e are thr ee or four pixels between the name and the button’s left and right borders. See pages 3-3 and 3-7. Capitalizati[...]

APPENDIX A v oiding Common Mistak es A-4 F onts A Use fonts carefully . For the voice of the system and application use the bold style of the System font in 9- or 10-point sizes. For values a user can change use Casual 10- and 12-point. (Those are the fonts that ar e preset by the system protos.) K eyboard Button A If your application includes a Ke[...]

APPENDIX A v oiding Common Mistak es A-5 Storage A Allow users to move your application’s data between storage locations with the Filing button in the Extras Drawer ’s status bar . This is the method used by the built-in applications. See page 8-14. Date and Time Input A T o input dates and times use the specially designed Newton pickers. See p[...]

[...]

GL-1 Glossary 9 alert box A view that appears on the screen to warn the user or report an err or . alert sound An audible warning from the Newton’s speaker that warns the user of an unusual or potentially undesirable situation. An alert sound may or may not be accompanied by a notification slip. application Software that performs a specific tas[...]

GLOSSAR Y GL-2 busy cursor A graphical signal that the system displays automatically while it is temporarily unable to process user input. button A small graphic object that performs an action when tapped. See also picture button and text button. button bar A thick black line with buttons on it. caret A symbol (^) displayed where the Newton will ne[...]

GLOSSAR Y GL-3 context-sensitive Describes an application that can adjust its actions according to the curr ent situation. For example, an application with context-sensitive user input adjusts handwriting recognition accor ding to the type of field (name, date, time, number , phone number , and so on). control An object in a container view that a [...]

GLOSSAR Y GL-4 Extras Drawer A built-in container view that displays named picture buttons a user can tap to open applications. field One item of data input. Also, the place in a container view where a user can input a data item by tapping, typing, writing, or drawing. floating container view A container view that initially appears in front of al[...]

GLOSSAR Y GL-5 Item Info slip A slip that reports statistics for an item headed by a separator bar . The statistics include the item’s title, type, creation date, size, and storage location. A user can change an item’s title in the Item Info slip. ink text W ords written in electronic ink. input Information transferred into a Newton fr om some [...]

GLOSSAR Y GL-6 Notepad The built-in application for taking and organizing notes, which may contain text and drawings. notification slip A view that appears on the screen to warn the user or to report an err or . A notification slip may or may not be accompanied by an alert sound. output Information transferred from a Newton to some external desti[...]

GLOSSAR Y GL-7 point A unit of measurement for type. 1 point equals approximately 1 ⁄ 72 inch. proto template A predefined template that defines the appearance and behavior of a standard interface element, such as a Close box or a status slip. A proto template is called a “proto” for short. radio button A standar d Newton control that displ[...]

GLOSSAR Y GL-8 slider A control with a marker that indicates an amount, degree, or value in r elation to a range of possible values. The user can adjust the setting by dragging the marker on a slider . Compare to gauge. slip A matte-framed container view that an application displays to get detailed user input, or to present alternatives among which[...]

GLOSSAR Y GL-9 user interface The rules and conventions by which a device communicates and interacts with the person operating it. word wrap The automatic continuation of text from the end of one line to the beginning of the next without breaking in the middle of a word.[...]

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IN-1 Index A About box 4-24 accessibility 1-3 action ongoing 2-23 routing 7-8 Action button 3-28, 7-8 Action picker application commands in 7-10, 7-12 building 7-1 1 contents 7-10 purpose 4-26, 7-8 separator line in 7-10 transports in 7-10 active application 2-29 aesthetic integrity , as design principle 1-9 Alarms service 8-4 alert box border 2-7 [...]

INDEX IN-2 position of 2-31 slip 2-15 status slip 2-20 AZ index tabs, in list picker 4-13 B backdrop application 2-29, 3-1 1, 7-9 Beam command 4-26 border alert box 2-7 confirmation alert 2-18 main view 2-13 matte 2-6, 2-13 notification alert 2-17 picture button 3-7 plain 2-8 routing slip 2-7 scrolling list 6-4 shadow 2-8 slip 2-16 striped 2-7 te[...]

INDEX IN-3 list picker item 4-3 overview picker item 4-20 radio button 3-18 view title 2-5 caps key 6-35 caret gesture for inserting space 6-26 moving 6-35 text insertion 6-27, 6-34, 6-35 Caret picker 6-28 character keys 6-34 checkbox for data input 6-7 defined 3-18 overview picker 4-19 vs. radio button 3-19 check mark, in list picker 4-3 city 7-1[...]

INDEX IN-4 checkbox for 6-7 correcting misr ecognized text in 6-29 defined 6-1 drawing input 6-8 duplicating in 6-31 editing of 6-8, 6-21 erasing text or shapes in 6-24 error handling for 6-37 expanding text input line for 6-1 1 general input 6-14 ink text in 6-18 input field for 6-1 inserting space in 6-26 inserting text in 6-27 keyboard keys fo[...]

INDEX IN-5 sound 8-6 status slip 2-20 user testing 1-3 views 2-3 field label capitalization 6-2 font 6-2 highlighting 4-1 1 position 6-2 puncuation 6-2 Filing button location 8-15 nothing to file 8-15 purpose 3-27, 8-14 Filing service Filing button and slip 3-27, 8-14 folders 8-14 received items 7-28 summarized 8-13 Filing services folder tab 8-1[...]

INDEX IN-6 H header , In/Out Box item 7-4 help 4-24, 7-34, 8-27, 8-28 hierarchical pickers 4-14 highlighting button 3-9 editing mark 6-22 icon 5-10 list picker 4-1 1 separator line 4-1 1 hot spot 3-21, 4-7 How Do I? button 8-27, 8-28 human interface design principle. See principles of human interface design humor , icon 5-6 I icon animating 5-9 app[...]

INDEX IN-7 routing 7-35 task slip 8-27 Item Info button 3-29, 7-6 Item Info slip 3-29, 7-6 K keyboard caps key 6-35 character keys 6-34 del key 6-35 displaying 6-33 option key 6-36 position 6-34 return key 6-35 tab key 6-35 types of 6-32 Keyboard button 3-25 Keyboard picker 6-33 L labeled input line 6-10 large Close box 3-14 layout, screen 1-1 1 li[...]

INDEX IN-8 size 1-1 1 status bar 2-1 1 title 2-10 margins, changing 6-31 mask, icon 5-10 matte border 2-6, 2-13 menu. See list picker; overview picker message confirmation 2-19 Find service 8-12 no scrolling or overview 2-49 nothing to route 7-8 notification 2-18 status slip 2-21 metaphor as design principle 1-4 icon for 5-2 misrecognized text, c[...]

INDEX IN-9 switching to 2-47 Overview button 2-46, 2-49 overview picker capitalizing 4-20 closing 4-22 contents 4-19 for data input 6-3 defined 4-19 font 4-20 list picker in 4-21 new item in 4-21, 4-23 People picker 4-27 position 4-20 punctuation 4-20 scrolling 4-22 selecting items 4-21 using 4-21 Owner Info 7-14 owner name 7-14, 7-19 P palette 2-[...]

INDEX IN-10 position Action button 3-28 auxiliary view 2-31 button 3-3 close box 3-15 Filing button 3-27, 8-15 Info button 3-23 input field 6-2 Item Info button 3-29 keyboard 6-34 Keyboard button 3-25 list picker 4-8 main view 2-30 New button 3-26 overview picker 4-20 Recognizer button 3-24 Show button 3-26 view 2-30 prefer ences alarms 8-5 applic[...]

Rotate button 3-30 rotating display . See display orientation routing See also In/Out Box; routing slip Action button and picker 7-8 alternative methods 7-34 automatic 7-3, 7-4 confirming 7-19 formats 7-20 incoming items 7-3, 7-24 by Intelligent Assistant 7-35 Item Info button and slip 7-6 nothing to route 7-8 outgoing items 7-4, 7-7, 7-8 prefer e[...]

INDEX IN-12 Action button on 3-28, 7-10 buttons on 3-1 1 defined 2-1 1 Filing button on 3-27, 8-16 Item Info button on 3-29 picture button on 3-7 separator line in Action picker 4-26, 7-10 in folder tab 8-19 in list picker 4-6 not highlighted 4-1 1 shadow icon 5-4 view 2-8 shapes changing 6-31 duplicating 6-31 erasing 6-24 input 6-13 moving 6-32 s[...]

INDEX IN-13 redisplaying 2-23, 8-3 summarized 2-20 user decision in 2-24 Stop button 2-23, 3-6, 7-31 stopping status slip 2-23 storage location 3-27, 8-16, 8-20, 8-31 striped border 2-7 sub-pickers 4-14 switching to overview 2-47 T tab key 6-35 table, in picker 4-4 table of contents 2-44 T ag button and picker 7-26 take-action button 2-16, 2-33, 3-[...]

INDEX IN-14 type-ahead 6-36 typing 6-32 U unacknowledged alarms 8-5 undo 6-37 universal scroll arr ow defined 2-38 list picker 4-12 overview picker 4-23 usability testing 1-13 user control, as design principle 1-8 user observation, steps for conducting 1-15 users abilities and limitations 1-3 observing 1-14 V view active 2-29 appearance of 2-3 aux[...]

INDEX IN-15 Z zigzag 6-24 zoom 2-48[...]

INDEX IN-16[...]

THE APPLE PUBLISHING SYSTEM This Apple manual was written, edited, and composed on a desktop publishing system using Apple Macintosh computers and FrameMaker software. Proof pages wer e created on an Apple LaserW riter Pro 630 printer . Final page negatives were output dir ectly from the text and graphics files. Line art was created using Adobe ?[...]