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Subject:Re: re icons in running text From:Scott Miller <smiller -at- CORP -dot- PORTAL -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 29 Jun 1998 09:58:33 -0700
I'm late too, but here are some reasons why including icons in running
text is a bad idea:
- Screws up the line spacing, which is not just a cosmetic problem. It
makes the text harder to read, especially online.
- Doesn't inform the user about what the icon is for. Some of these
icons are pretty cryptic, so you have something like "Click {picture of
a brain with an arrow through it}." The user doesn't know what will
happen when clicking this icon.
- It requires two types of mental processing for one thought. The poor
ol' brain has to switch gears from verbal to visual. Bummer.
- If it's a choice between writing instructions for a menu choice versus
the toolbar equivalent, then there are other issues:
o It doesn't work so good with editable tool bars.
An icon might be in the UI, or it might not.
o Icons are harder to find in the UI than menu items.
o Some menu commands don't have toolbar icons,
so you end up being inconsistent.
o Menus display keyboard shortcuts, icons don't.
o Toolbar icons sometimes behave differently
than their toolbar equivalents. For example,
the Word Print icon prints, the File - Print
command displays the Print dialog box.
I like to include both the icon and the words, for example:
Choose File - Print.
{Picture of print icon}
- Scott Miller
smiller -at- portal -dot- com
--------------------------------------
> Sorry I'm late on this. About a week ago, the question of plugging
> icons into running text came up and I believe all the answers were
> in favor. I'd like to caveat that, as Alexander Haig would say.
>
> 1. While it's true that by budging the icon downward on the
> line you can minimize the disruption in line-spacing, there is
> of course a limit. It's possible for an icon to be too doggone
> big.
>
> 2. A lot of people hear the sentences in their head as they read.
> If your icon doesn't have any text, I personally suspect that
> (a) they will find it irritating to read, and (b) they may not
> retain the information very well.
>
