How would you improve drawers in OS X? (some big images)
I've noticed here and in other places that some people abhor the use of drawers in OS X. I think they're a good idea but lack some flexibility right now. I'm wonder what about drawers you find either lacking or worthless.
Right now, drawers are a bit rigid, and sometimes abused by developers that are maybe a little too gung-ho over Aqua. Watson is rather drawer-crazy in places, something that Sherlock 3, of all things, demonstrated. Mail.app could stand to be a bit more like the other iApps (please ignore any temptation to rant or rave about brushed metal
) in that the mailboxes could, arguably should be in a pane on the left side, this also being like some other e-mail clients. So one problem in my mind is that drawers aren't implemented correctly.
However, Watson does use drawer well when it pulls out the tool settings on the side, PhotoToWeb's story-board drawer, and Apple's Backup details drawer are all good implementations of drawers. But I think they could be improved in some small ways.
It would be nice if drawers could be easily resized. The current borders around them are a tad ugly, but that's just cosmetic. They do look like they can be grabbed and dragged around, but drawers only resize to a limited degree, and IMO close a little too easily. Some drawers look silly when they are as tall as the window they're attached to. It would be nice to resize them vertically as well too. I'm not user if a drawer would need a "handle" or (dare I say it!) tab sticking out of the side of the window, or whether a jewel button or toolbar icon is adequate. Part of me think the handle would look terribly dumb sticking out like that, but part of me thinks it's a simpler, more direct way of managing the drawer.
I've seen a fair number of curt replies about drawers in other threads in the past, and I'm wondering just what's behind those. Do you dismiss them altogether, or do you think they could be better?
[ 03-02-2003: Message edited by: BuonRotto ]</p>
Right now, drawers are a bit rigid, and sometimes abused by developers that are maybe a little too gung-ho over Aqua. Watson is rather drawer-crazy in places, something that Sherlock 3, of all things, demonstrated. Mail.app could stand to be a bit more like the other iApps (please ignore any temptation to rant or rave about brushed metal
) in that the mailboxes could, arguably should be in a pane on the left side, this also being like some other e-mail clients. So one problem in my mind is that drawers aren't implemented correctly.However, Watson does use drawer well when it pulls out the tool settings on the side, PhotoToWeb's story-board drawer, and Apple's Backup details drawer are all good implementations of drawers. But I think they could be improved in some small ways.
It would be nice if drawers could be easily resized. The current borders around them are a tad ugly, but that's just cosmetic. They do look like they can be grabbed and dragged around, but drawers only resize to a limited degree, and IMO close a little too easily. Some drawers look silly when they are as tall as the window they're attached to. It would be nice to resize them vertically as well too. I'm not user if a drawer would need a "handle" or (dare I say it!) tab sticking out of the side of the window, or whether a jewel button or toolbar icon is adequate. Part of me think the handle would look terribly dumb sticking out like that, but part of me thinks it's a simpler, more direct way of managing the drawer.
I've seen a fair number of curt replies about drawers in other threads in the past, and I'm wondering just what's behind those. Do you dismiss them altogether, or do you think they could be better?
[ 03-02-2003: Message edited by: BuonRotto ]</p>
Comments
<strong>Mail.app could stand to be a bit more like the other iApps (please ignore any temptation to rant or rave about brushed metal
ahem.
<a href="http://www.spymac.com/gallery/data/536/10299mail_drawer_left.jpg"; target="_blank">
click4bigger
click onto the main window, where the mails are listed, and drag the drawer to the side you want it. the sign looks like this:
My only problem with them is that they lack a close button. I hate having to mouse onto the tiny fringe and drag it closed. Otherwise I generally like them.
<strong>My only problem with them is that they lack a close button. I hate having to mouse onto the tiny fringe and drag it closed. Otherwise I generally like them.</strong><hr></blockquote>
In Mail and Preview, there's a toolbar icon that toggles the drawer open and closed. Most apps I've used with drawers have either a toolbar icon or some jewel button (little round thing) to toggle the drawer.
The Mail drawer thing works fine for me for the mostpart, I just remember people criticizing the use of a drawer for their mailboxes in the first place. I think for them, and they're technically right if this is how they used them, that a drawer is for stuff you use occasionally. If you have the drawer open all the time, should it be a drawer?
I hate the fact that sometimes if you start dragging an email in the wrong direction the drawer jumps to the other side of the window, that there's no real resize widget and no natural way to access them when closed.
While I think drawers are less intrusive than panes that move into the window space, the fact that with the exception to OmniWeb's drawer behavior they open off screen if the window is too close to the screen edge is bothersome too. On one hand, I don't like how OmniWeb's window gets squished, it's just as intrusive as having an internal pane a la IE. On the other, I think drawers should at least act like spring-loaded Finder windows and save sheets when their windows are too close to the screen edge -- they should at least move the window over to make room for the drawer on screen.
Its not a big deal if you have a 23" display but on an iBook I often have my email maximized and then I want quick access to the drawer to change my account.
that would be sweet.
Whereas sheets have improved the flow of the user interface and make great sense (in most situations), drawers are more of a decorative element and doesn't really offer many practical enhancements.
The space a drawer occupies is left entirely up to the developer.
They need to come up with a more elegant version of the 'drawers' in IE5
and as for the button in the toolbar expanding and contracting - it's bad UI design
why would you put a button that controls X far away from X itself?
Buttons need context. If the button is ON X then it's blatantly obvious it does something to it.
But then there's the problem of it totally disappearing when you close it.
Which bring me back to my first point.
IE5 drawers
<strong>I've noticed here and in other places that some people abhor the use of drawers in OS X. I think they're a good idea but lack some flexibility right now. I'm wonder what about drawers you find either lacking or worthless.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Drawers are a good UI theory, unfortunately the theory does not work well in the real world. Personally, the reason I dislike drawers is because they are hidden until opened. A good UI design has everything out in the open. A good example of a good UI that Mail.app could learn from is iTunes.
<a href="http://www.spymac.com/gallery/data/536/10299mail_drawer_left.jpg"; target="_blank">
I'm not sure this is the right way to handle a drawer since it's a bit out of the way. Would a jewel like what's in PhotoToWeb make a little more sense:
Also, does it depend on the kind of info being displayed? Here's a shot of TIFFany's info drawer for the Action Catalog:
Does this sort of ancillary stuff like info about a file or a tool work better?
Drawers don't seem to be used as well as I think they could be, but I'm tryig to figure out what it is. I tend to think it's the content along with a better widget to access them.
[ 03-02-2003: Message edited by: BuonRotto ]
[ 03-02-2003: Message edited by: BuonRotto ]</p>