Copyright © Nokia Corporation | ver. 1.
Editorial notes A style guide should give an overview and provide enough guidelines for designing good applications, but not all the information to write the software. This is intended to be a compact and easy to read guide, which means skipping many details that can be found in other documents. There's no general discussion about good usability; instead this document tries to clarify how the style elements of the Nokia Series 60 user interface are meant to be used in practice.
Contents ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT ................................................................................................................................................ 7 PURPOSE ....................................................................................................................................................................... 7 AUDIENCE .....................................................................................................................................................
NAVIGATION USING LINKS.....................................................................................................................................25 5. UI COMPONENTS ......................................................................................................................................................25 LISTS AND GRIDS............................................................................................................................................................
CONFIRMATION QUERY...........................................................................................................................................60 LIST QUERY.................................................................................................................................................................61 MULTISELECTION LIST QUERY ...............................................................................................................................62 DATA QUERY ...........
SELECTING TEXT ........................................................................................................................................................80 DOCUMENT HANDLING ................................................................................................................................................80 CREATING NEW DOCUMENTS ...............................................................................................................................80 SAVING EDITED DATA .....
About this document Purpose The Nokia Series 60 UI Style Guide gives an overview of the Series 60 user interface and describes the essential parts of it, giving examples of how to use the interface elements. The Nokia Series 60 UI Style Guide can be used as an introduction to the style or as reference material. It can provide background material to help UI designers make decisions about their product.
1. WHERE NOKIA SERIES 60 UI BELONGS Nokia Series 60 UI is intended for use in higher end mobile phones featuring personal information management (PIM) and multimedia applications such as: · Calendars · Text and multimedia messaging · E-mail · WAP or other browsers · Imaging The screen is suitable for viewing short messages and can also display colour or grayscale images. The data entry interface is optimised for a numeric ITU-T type keypad.
2. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS Nokia Series 60 UI has certain requirements concerning the hardware. This section lists the assumed hardware for the first implementation; it is possible to extend and modify the hardware to some extent for subsequent product generations. Display Figure 2-1. Series 60 display. The Series 60 UI display specifications are as follows: · Resolution: 176 pixels (width) by 208 pixels (height). It should be possible to modify the vertical resolution for future generations.
Keys The following keys are required for Series 60 UI: navigation keys Scroll up Scroll down Scroll left Scroll right Select key softkeys Left softkey Right softkey call handling Send key End key other Applications key ITU-T numeric keypad (0-9, *, #) Clear key Edit key Power key · The navigation keys can be ordinary buttons, or they can be implemented using different control devices, for example a roller which can be rotated and pressed so that up, down and select functions would be mapped to it.
3. GRAPHICAL COMPONENTS Windows and panes The display layouts are hierarchically organised. The layouts are built using components called windows and panes. screen Screen is the topmost display component, corresponding to the entire pixel area of the physical screen. window Window is a component that has no parent except the screen.
- status pane - main pane - softkey pane See the dedicated sections for more detailed descriptions on each of these panes. pop-up window A pop-up window does not fill the entire screen; the pop-up window has a frame, and typically the underlying application is partly visible around the pop-up window. Pop-up windows are typically used in temporary states. Back stepping does not usually lead to a pop-up window. Detailed information on various pop-up windows can be found in section Pop-up windows.
Applications can also use the main pane area to freely draw whatever is needed. In that case, however, the responsibility of the look and feel is entirely on the application's designer. General guidelines for designing application specific main pane layouts can be found elsewhere in this document. Status pane Status pane displays status information of the current application and state as well as general information about the device status – for example the signal strength and battery charging.
Context pane Context pane displays the current application's icon. Figure 3-4. Context pane. · The user can recognize the application by the context pane whenever the title pane contains a context - specific text. · The context pane graphic may contain some dynamic element (for example animation) to inform the user about the application's state. Some applications (e.g. Contacts) may even use the pane in a fully dynamic way to display some data relevant to the application.
design guideline, the number of tabs should be kept low (max 6 recommended), and the number should not be dynamic. (See Tabs in section Interaction style for a description of their effect on navigation within an application.) Navigation text Figure 3-7. Navigation text. Navigation text is displayed in the navi pane when there are similar items to be browsed by scrolling horizontally, e.g. dates in a calendar. Arrow indicators in both ends of the pane indicate the possibility to scroll.
Battery pane Figure 3-11. Battery indicator is only visible in the idle state. It displays the remaining energy level of the battery, using a graphical indicator. It also acts as a charging indicator. Battery pane (right). Universal indicator pane Figure 3-12. Used for displaying universal status indicators: the status indicators that need to be visible regardless of the current application. The maximum number of items at a time is 3; items are prioritized according to their importance.
backstepping from one state to the previous state never leads into a temporary state; they are skipped. More information on these components can be found in section UI components. Options menu The commands and options that are available in the current context can be accessed via the options menu. It is displayed as a list in a pop-up window. Query A query is a component where the software waits for user input. All query components are displayed in pop-up windows.
Presentation of text Justification Default text justification is left. There are only a few exceptions to this, in specific cases, for example: · Soft indicators in idle state. These are right justified. It must also be noted that when the display text language is Arabic or some other language following right to left writing direction, many elements are right justified. (See [some specific document] for more information on layout changes for right-toleft languages.
Edit key - the interaction is different, causing the action on the key release event. · Certain keys, possibly in certain contexts only, may perform key repeat. Key repeat starts after long key press timeout when the key is continuously being held down, and the associated function is performed according to the key repeat frequency, for example 3 times/second. (The repeat frequency may be user adjustable.) Moving the cursor in an editor is a typical case where key repeat can be used.
there is no item to open and no option to select (see section Selection list). The Select key must not directly activate any such function the user would not expect in the given situation. Therefore, the context specific options menu is offered in states where no selectable items exist. The open/select function should not be mixed with the options menu function within the same state; only one or the other should be used. Left softkey - Typically labeled Options. Opens the options menu.
During calls: - Puts an active call on hold; makes a held call active; swaps active and held calls if both exist. - Answer a waiting call (if only one call exists already). (See section Call handling for more detailed descriptions.) In idle: - Brings up Last dialed calls list for redialing. End - Rejects the arriving call. - When an active call exists: ends the active call. - When only a held call exists: ends the held call.
navigation keys to select (highlight) text, which then enables the copy and cut functions. - In markable lists, using Edit key together with navigation keys allows the user to mark several items of the list, then a function can be executed on all the marked items as one operation. The Edit key is handled in a special way: the primary action (editing options menu) is opened from the key release event, not the key down event as it would usually be.
1 1-2 1-1 1-1-1 1-1-2 Figure 4-1. 1-2-1 1-3 1-3-1 1-3-2 1-3-3 An example of a basic state hierarchy in an application. Solid lines indicate moving forward from a state into a sub-state. Dotted lines are backward moves to the previous level. Navigation using Tabs Nokia Series 60 UI uses the tab metaphor that allows combining several pages of related information into a single state when all of it would not fit onto a single screen or list.
Tab-controlled views apply the following rules: · Moving from one tab view to another has no effect on the function of the Back softkey in these views: from all of them the back function leads to the same place – the previous level in the application. The tabbed views are in this respect interpreted as one state in the application. · When a state has tabbed views, one of them is the default view that is opened when the user enters the state from the previous level.
This additional navigation feature can be interpreted as a shortcut between sibling folders. For folder navigation, the basic navigation rules are applied, noticing the following: · Moving from one folder to another has no effect on the function of the Back softkey in these views: from all of them the back function leads to the previous hierarchy level. · The navigation shortcuts can only be applied when there is no other use for the left and right scroll keys in the state.
a. Figure 5-1 b. List highlighting (a) and grid highlighting (b). Empty lists and grids If there are no items to be displayed in a list or grid, the pane contains a text informing the user about the empty list. Figure 5-2. Empty list. Depending on the case, it may be justified to prompt the user to create the first item for an empty list.
· If the new choice item is not visible, all items are moved in the view to the appropriate direction so that the new item becomes fully visible. For example, if focus is moving down and the new item is currently below the bottom edge of the view, the items are moved up. · When moving the choice items in the view, they are only moved the minimum amount necessary. For example, when moving items up to get the next one under the bottom edge visible, the item moves to the lowest allowed position in the view.
The indicator is situated in the control pane, and it consists of two arrow images, one pointing up and the other one down. The colours of the arrows depend on the position of the focus, so that towards the list’s beginning, the upward arrow image becomes less noticeable and eventually (when on the first item) disappears, and vice versa. So clearly visible arrows always point in the direction which has the larger number of items in the list.
The browsing in grids that scroll vertically resembles traditional scrolling in text editors, based on the idea that the user can always move to the correct row first and then move within the row to the correct item. The following rules are applied: · Empty cells are skipped: the focus is never on an empty cell. An exception to this occurs when the user is moving items around in a grid; in that situation all cells are accessible.
Horizontally scrolling grids may be used when the application design requires it. For them, the browsing rules are applied by exchanging the horizontal and vertical browsing rules. The example figures presented above are correct if turned 90 degrees counter-clockwise. Scrolling indicator for grids The same scrolling indicator as with lists is applied to vertically scrolling grids. The indicator refers to the row where the focus is located; left-right movement within the row has no effect on the indicator.
Left softkey (Select) select the item, do associated function Right softkey (Cancel) dismiss the menu; return to the state preceding the opening of menu Send key, Edit key ignored numeric keypad ignored other keys dismiss the menu and do the default action of the key Examples of components using menu lists are options menu and list query. Figure 5-6. Menu lists: Options menu (left) and list query.
· Open a context-specific options menu. This should only happen when the user cannot be assumed to know what happens if the Select key is pressed. The menu should contain only high-priority options associated with the item in focus, not general items like Settings or Help. The two types of Select key actions should not be mixed within one list; one or the other should happen for every item in the list. Select4 Figure 5-7. Select action opens a view. Select4 Figure 5-8. Select action does a command.
Select4 Figure 5-9. Context-specific Options menu opened from Select key.
Figure 5-10. Selection lists. Markable list A markable list is a selection list with the added marking feature. The user can mark any number of items on the list while browsing it, and then execute a single command, which is applied to all the marked items. This is analogous to the multiple-item highlight feature used in computer GUIs. The marking feature will typically be applied to lists the user manages, containing a large number of items that may be for example sent, moved or deleted.
The mark and unmark functions are available in the Options menu of the markable list. Alternatively, or as a shortcut, the user can keep the Edit key pressed while using the navigation and Select keys in the following way: · Pressing the Select key while holding Edit marks the current item. This is a toggling function, so pressing Edit-Select on a marked item unmarks the item. · Pressing a scroll key (up or down) while holding Edit marks both the current item and the one onto which the focus moves.
For other keypad actions than the ones described above, refer to the Selection list section. Multiselection list Multiselection list is used when we want to emphasize that it is possible to select several items from a list at the same time. Typically, there is an operation going on that expects one or more items as input. An example of this is when the user is creating a group, and a list of names is offered as a multiselection list.
other keys cancel the list, and then do the default action of the key Setting lists Setting list is a specific kind of selection list containing setting items which the user can adjust. Setting lists are displayed in the main pane. Figure 5-13. A setting list. A setting item can be adjusted by selecting it in the same way as selection list items are selected in general, by pressing the Select key, or choosing the Change command in the options menu.
values. Then the last option is named Other, and selecting it opens a data query for entering the new value. multiselection list setting Multiselection list setting allows the user to choose several simultaneous values from a pre–defined list. The setting editor displays the available values as a multi-selection list. The setting item displays the number of selected items versus all items in the value field; for example: 3/8. Figure 5-15. Multiselection setting.
During a setting editor state, the keypad functions are: Scroll up / down pop-up, multiselection: browse the list text: move cursor slider: ignored Scroll left / right pop-up: ignored multiselection: ignored text: move cursor slider: adjust (key repeat event may move the slider by several steps) Select key all except multiselection: accept the value, return to setting list multiselection: toggle check/uncheck Left softkey (OK) accept the current item or value, return Right softkey (Cancel) cancel t
· If pop-up setting has only two available values (like On and Off) and no special procedure is needed when switching from one value to the other, then the setting editor (list) need not be displayed when the user presses the Select key; the item's value is changed immediately. However, if the user opens the setting item via the options menu, or if an additional procedure is required (for example a password) before the item’s value can be changed, the menu list is opened normally.
Forms without the Options softkey In case the form does not need any context-specific functions in the Options menu, the softkey interface can be the same as in queries: left softkey is Done and the right softkey is Cancel. Done accepts the contents and returns, wherea the Cancel function discards all changes in the form and returns. Form items Empty items (that contain no data) can be hidden in the form’s view state.
Left softkey (Options) Options menu. (In a form without options menu, left softkey is Done.) Right softkey (Done) Accept the contents and return to previous state. (In a form without options menu, right softkey is Cancel.
Figure 5-20. Pop-up field. A pop-up field may also allow the user to enter a textual value in addition to the pre-defined values. Then the last option is named for example Other, and selecting it opens a data query. slider With slider the user can adjust a numeric value (although it is not necessary to present the actual value to the user as a number). In view state, the item is presented as a textual item.
· Partial items are not visible: when the list/grid pane area does not exactly correspond to an integer number of items, the remaining area outside the last fully visible item appears empty, displaying the background of the particular pane. Column structure of lists For visual consistency, the standard list layouts are built around a structure of three virtual columns. The column borders are aligned with the sides of the context pane.
Standard elements in list items, associated with columns, are: column A - small graphic (icon) - item number (see section Numbered items) column B - heading (title or attribute of the item) column AB - heading (title or attribute of the item) - large graphic (e.g. icon or image thumbnail) column C/BC/ABC - main text of the item List item types The appearance of list items can be chosen from the following types.
single-line item with graphic and heading Figure 5-26. small graphic (A), heading text (B), main text (C) usage: - menu lists - selection lists, markable lists - multiselection lists There is a corresponding component for pop-up windows. single-line item with large graphic two-line item Figure 5-27. large graphic (AB), main text (C) usage: - menu lists - selection lists, markable lists Figure 5-28.
primary text, secondary text (ABC) usage: - menu lists - selection lists double item with large graphic Figure 5-31. large graphic (AB), primary text, secondary text (C) usage: - menu lists - selection lists Like a double item, but with the graphic added on the left side. Second line may be empty. There is a corresponding component for pop-up windows. double item style 2 Figure 5-32.
setting item Figure 5-34. attribute text (ABC), value text (C) usage: - setting lists A two-line layout: attribute text is on top line, value text (or graphic) on bottom line in a box. The value box may be omitted in order to create a regular selection item within a setting list. Numbered items Instead of small graphic, the A column (where used separately) may contain a number. This can be used to indicate item numbers in lists where necessary. Figure 5-35. · A numbered list.
Figure 5-36. A setting list containing a non-setting item (Call waiting) to access another view. Grid types Grids are in many ways analogous to lists. However, there are some things worth noticing: · In grids, the Scroll left and Scroll right keys are always used for moving the focus; they can't be used in any other way that may be possible with lists. · Grid layouts are not standardized as much as lists are, the layouts must be designed case by case for the applications.
Figure 5-37. A find pane within a selection list of names in Phonebook. The standard functionality is as follows: · Characters typed from the numeric keypad appear in the end of the string in the find pane. · There is no cursor, so the user can only add and remove characters in the end. · The find pane may be hidden until the user types in a character. · Whenever the find string changes, the list in the main pane is filtered, and only the items matching the string are displayed.
The options menu is a menu list displayed in a pop-up window. Selecting an item is done pressing either the left softkey (OK) or the Select key. The user must either select an item from the list or cancel the menu; it can't be left pending during another action. (See section Menu list.) The pop-up window is located above the control pane, and its height is dynamic; maximum size is approximately the size of the standard main pane. The content on screen outside the menu pop-up is dimmed.
· The number of items should be low, so that the user does not need to scroll in order to see all of them. · Functions should not sometimes occur in main level and at other times in a submenu. Items that are in a submenu should always be found in the same submenu. · Only one submenu level is allowed, that is, a submenu can't contain another submenu. Unavailable items Situations often occur where a certain function cannot be used.
Delete operation should not be listed in the OK options menu. (The Clear key is a shortcut to that function.) In case there are marked items in a list, the OK options menu should include the mark/unmark functions. When a list is empty, it may make sense to offer a Create new type of option in the OK options – but only when it would be an appropriate function in the context. Edit options menu Opened by pressing the Edit key in a text editor. Contains only editing commands. See section Text editing.
Write 4 Submenu for message writing SMS Start writing a new short message. MMS Start writing a new multimedia message. email Start writing a new email. Create new Send via (1)4 Initiate creation of a new item. When more than one type of item can be created, a submenu may be used to select the type. Submenu for initiating the sending of items using one of the available connections. (Not the same as “Send now”.) In this location in applications where sending data is a primary function.
Mark / Unmark Mark or unmark the current item, depending on the current state. Mark all Unmark all Rename Rename the item in focus. +++ Add to contacts 4 Submenu for functions used to add contact information into the Phonebook. Create new Creates a new contact item. Update existing Adds new field(s) in an existing contact item. Find in text 4 Submenu for functions used to extract contact information from text in viewers and browsers.
Notes · A note is a feedback component that informs the user about the current situation. A note contains a text and possibly a graphical element. The softkey labels are typically empty (a wait note is an exception to this.) Figure 5-40. · An information note. Notes do not require user input, although a user can dismiss most notes by pressing any key. The following note types are in use: confirmation note Informs the user about a successfully completed operation. Short duration, subtle tone.
operation. For this a softkey labeled, for example, “Cancel’ is provided. Figure 5-41. A wait note with a Cancel function in the right softkey. Some guidelines concerning note usage: Use a confirmation note when: · The effect of the operation can't be seen directly by some other means. Example: Message sent. · There is some relevant information to be communicated by it. Example: Last call duration.
Soft notifications Soft Notifications are reminders that inform the user of events that have occurred in the user’s absence, or while the user was busy with some application. Text, and also graphics, can be used to communicate the message to the user. Soft notifications are displayed in pop-up windows. The user can respond to the soft notification by using the softkeys. The left softkey is used for activating a function, for example opening a message that has arrived.
Figure 5-43: A grouped soft notification. The height of the window is dynamic and depends on the number of lines in the list. Discarding soft notifications The application that launched a soft notification can discard it without user intervention when the notification becomes obsolete. A soft notification should remain pending until the user has responded to it, or started using the corresponding application so that in effect the notification becomes obsolete.
Figure 5-44. Several stacked soft notifications. Note the graphic indicating multiple windows. Queries A query is a state where the software waits for user input. Queries are used in situations with more than one way to proceed, when the application needs data from the user, or when it is necessary to make sure the user knows what is happening. A query must exit before the application can proceed. Queries are displayed in pop-up windows.
proceed is possible, and the response text (for example ‘OK’) is placed on the left softkey. The Selection key always causes the same action as the left softkey. Figure 5-45. A confirmation query. Guidelines for designing confirmation queries: · When designing the prompt text, make sure the ‘positive’ answer is also the safe one. Users tend to proceed pressing the left softkey or Selection key without thinking too much. · Use descriptive softkey labels whenever possible.
Figure 5-46. A list query. The number of items in the list should be kept low, so that all items can be seen without scrolling. Instead of a list, a grid can be used in a query. The grid query function is otherwise identical to a list query. Figure 5-47. A grid in a query. Multiselection list query A multiselection list query is used when the user needs to be able to select several items from a list at the same time. See section Multiselection list for a description of multiselection list.
Figure 5-48. Multiselection list query. Data query A data query requests the user to type in some alphanumeric or numeric information, like a name or a phone number. The query contains a prompt text and a user input field. The input field can have any type of editor, depending on context, so that the input may be restricted to for example numeric data, date or time only. Both the prompt and input fields can be longer than one line when necessary.
Figure 5-50. A password query window. Data queries with multiple fields It is possible to have two input fields in a data query. An example of this is a user name and password query: one field is then a normal alphanumeric editor and the other a password editor. In this case, a press of the Selection key moves the insertion point from the first field to the next; in the second field it accepts the query. The left softkey always accepts the query.
The signal indicator is part of the status pane, and it is displayed in all states where the status pane exists. The indicator consists of an antenna icon and a bar graph that indicates the current signal level. The antenna icon may be replaced by another icon indicating the GPRS connection status. The battery indicator is displayed only in idle state and in Phone application. In other applications, the area is used for universal status indicators. The indicator consists of a battery icon and a bar graph.
Arrow icons on the left and right ends of navi pane indicate the possibility to move in the corresponding directions. (With tabs, the arrows are only displayed when all tabs are not visible.) Figure 5-54. Arrows in navi pane. Editing indicators When an editor is in use in the main pane, the indicators related to editing parameters are displayed in the navi pane. They indicate things such as the editing mode (numeric/alphanumeric), character case, predictive text status, and available space. Figure 5-55.
Operator indicator In idle, the title pane contains the operator indicator. It is either a text or a graphical image. Figure 5-58. A graphical operator indicator in the title pane. Scrolling indicators Arrowhead-shaped icons that indicate the scrolling status in lists are situated between softkey labels in the softkey pane. Refer to section Lists and grids for detailed description of the indicator functionality.
· The softkeys can be configured by the user to access various applications. · Scroll up, scroll down: open the Phonebook. · Scroll left, scroll right: unassigned by default, may be assigned by the user. · Select key: ignored. · Numeric keys can be used to dial a phone number manually; a press of a numeric key opens a number entry window. A long key press in idle is used for one-key calling to the number assigned to the key.
Shortcuts When the Application shell has been opened and no navigation has taken place, the numeric keys 1-9 can be used as shortcuts to selecting an application. The keys are mapped directly to the 9 icons in the shell’s initial view, so that key 1 corresponds to the top-left application and key 9 to the bottom-right one. When the user starts scrolling, the shortcuts are not available. Notice also that numeric shortcuts do not exist inside applications in general.
· However, software modules that several applications can use (such as editors) may run simultaneously in more than one application. The user may thus see the same feature being run in several different applications at the same time. Opening and closing applications Applications are typically opened using the Application shell, the menu containing all installed applications.
It is also possible to go to Idle state of the phone and leave an application running. This can be done by pressing the End key, or by selecting the Phone application from the Application shell. (The Phone application and Idle state are mutually exclusive states in the phone: when there is a voice call going on, there is no Idle state.) During a phone calls, however, the End key is used for terminating the call and cannot be used as a shortcut to Idle.
saves it automatically into a default place, and if there’s a pending dialog it will be canceled. The user is not asked questions; all the operations needed to bring the application to the target state are done automatically. After switching applications in this way, the Back function does not lead to the previous state.
In simple one-call cases, the Phone application looks like this: a. Figure 6-6. b. Phone application examples: a. Creating an outgoing call; b. Active call going on. More complex cases, where more than one call is involved, may also happen. The locations and sizes of individual call windows change according to the situation: a. b. c. Figure 6-7. Phone application, multi-call cases: a. One call active, another on hold; b. One active, one held, one waiting call; c.
Figure 6-8. Call status window, used when Phone application does not reside on screen. Call handling Calls are handled using the Send and End keys as follows: Send - Answers the incoming call when the phone rings or there is a waiting call. - Creates an outgoing call when there is a number entry window active. - Puts active call on hold; unholds a held call; swaps held and active calls. End - Rejects the incoming call. - When an active call exists: ends the active call.
Figure 6-9. Volume indicator in the Navi pane. Viewers and players Viewers are used for displaying read-only data. Examples of viewers are SMS, e-mail, and image viewers. To edit or create new data, the user starts an editor; the viewer may offer an option for starting an editor. When a piece of read-only data is presented, no focus is needed, as the user does not need to access any individual object within the data – it is only necessary to be able to go through the data.
Multimedia viewers For viewers that support several forms of data, the capabilities should be extended, while still keeping the core functions consistent with text viewers. For example, the viewed data may contain graphical still images that are displayed among text. The following additions to the earlier rules are applied: · When necessary an embedded image shall be scaled down so that it can fit the display as a whole. If the scaling capabilities are limited, a moderate amount of oversize can be allowed.
· Forward / Rewind Fast playing of the piece, using short audio clips, forward or reverse. · Faster / Slower Changes the speed of playing the audio, without changing the pitch. Can be useful with voice memos, for example. Playing functions shall be available in the player’s menu of options. However, the numeric keypad may also be used to control some of the functions. Text editing This section describes the common principles of text editing, focusing on Latin based scripts.
Selects characters when pressed simultaneously with navigation keys (see section Selecting text below). Edit menu Editing-specific functions can be accessed using the Edit menu. It is opened by pressing the Edit key when in text editor. The Edit menu looks and works just like the Options menu, but it contains only text-editing functions whereas other available options remain accessible in the Options menu.
Figure 6-10. Special character window. Editing indicators The status of the editor is displayed using graphic indicators. They inform the user about things such as: · Editing mode (numeric/alphanumeric, language-specific modes) · Character case · Predictive text status · Available space When the editor is in the main pane, the indicators are located in the navi pane. A data query that resides in a pop-up window has its indicators within the window. a. b. Figure 6-11.
Selecting text A chunk of text can be selected in an editor by keeping the Edit key pressed and using the navigation keys (scroll left/right/up/down). The selected text is shown using a highlight. The Cut and Copy functions are available when text is selected. Figure 6-12. Text selection in an editor. If the user presses any scroll key alone when there is a text selection, the selection disappears and the cursor reappears in the respective position.
Saving edited data Various kinds of documents may have different requirements concerning the behavior of keeping or discarding the edited data. Typically one enters data, or modifies it, in an editor, and then closes the editor accepting the new data. But sometimes there may be a need to do something else, like cancel the edit, or save an intermediate version of the data. Simple queries and setting items offer the user one input element (an editor or a list), presented in a temporary window.
Folders When there are a lot of data items to be managed, it makes sense to divide them into smaller sets. A folder is a place where a set of items can be collected. A folder can be present among single items in a directory, but it can be opened in order to view its contents. Users are able to create folders and delete them, move items into folders and out of folders, and rename folders and change other properties of folders (depending on application).
Fetching data Often it is necessary to be able to pick up a piece of data from an application, such as a phone number or address from the Phonebook. This is called fetching. It is a read-only operation: the user cannot edit the data, only browsing and selecting are possible. Browsing data during a fetch operation should resemble the application’s normal use: the data should be arranged the same way so that it is easy to find. Only the available functions are different: the data can’t be edited.
