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Subject:Re: Word choice for scroll bar . . . From:Beverly Parks <bparks -at- HUACHUCA-EMH1 -dot- ARMY -dot- MIL> Date:Fri, 14 Jul 1995 09:53:09 MST
Brian Boisvert <brianb -at- ICONICS -dot- COM> asked about terminology for
scroll bar panning:
(1) Single pan - click the left or right arrow on the scroll bar to
move the graph one bar in the appropriate direction
(2) Page pan - click inside the scroll bar to the left or right of the
indicator to move the graph one page in the appropriate direction (one
page = the current number of bars on the screen).
**Now, the third option is the one I am questioning:**
(3) Random pan - click and drag the indicator along the scroll bar to
view specific areas of the graph. (for example, move the indicator to
the center of the scroll bar to view the middle portion of the graph).
...It really isn't a *random* pan. Random
implies that you pan without any clue of what will show up on the
screen. Unfortunately, I can think of a word or two to describe what
is actually occurring.
=========
I may be coming from left field on this, but I think your
problem is the word "pan." By definition, the third option--the
one you describe as random--is the only option that is truly
panning.
"Pan" may be the accepted term for using the scroll bar, though
I've never heard it before. Panning means to follow a moving
object. The first two options, which simply jump to another
screen view, are not actually panning. You get the panning
affect when you drag the scroll bar, as in option 3.
Just off the top of my head, I'd be more inclined to say single
scroll, page scroll, and panning scroll (or pan scroll).
=*= Beverly Parks =*= bparks -at- huachuca-emh1 -dot- army -dot- mil =*=
=*= "Unless otherwise stated, all comments are my own. =*=
=*= I am not representing my employer in any way." =*=
