>> A trend that I find encouraging is the way some programs and websites start up with a tour or a tutorial to get new users oriented. <<
It has a tutorial, but that can be set in various ways. I'm betting it's not set to pop up first, if it's enabled at all. Doing that would probably be a good idea.
>> It's even better if the user can get back to that whenever they want -- GNU Emacs is one of my favorite examples of this, and it's had that feature for at least the last 30-odd years, along with an online hypertext manual that predates the web by over a decade. You'd think more designers would take the hint. <<
If only. This system seems to do either that, or give people a back/forward option, depending on context.
>> It's also infinitely customizable and extensible; that's harder to get right. <<
Very true. This system is designed for that; it's modular and open-source. Actually coding for it requires skill, but they have a skill tree that shows how to learn what you need for it. Take the provider side -- they've got modules for handling X-rays and other scans, departments like emergency room and maternity ward, etc. so you can assemble what you need based on the services you offer.
>>Dreamwidth also gets a lot of things right -- you can always append ?style=mine to any page's URL and get it displayed in a format you're familiar with.<<
Very clever. That's similar to how the user account works, whatever you set it for will reappear whenever you log in.
>> I don't remember which website I saw it on, but it has the word "text" in rather pale outline letters up in the upper right-hand corner. It doesn't clutter the interface much, but any text-oriented user is going to spot it immediately. Not sure what the appropriate icon for getting back to a visual interface would be.<<
I've seen Mode (which pulls down to Text and Visual options) and (picture)/T as a simple toggle. The picture dingbats tend to be a computer or a mini-landscape.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancing_serpent
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2017-06-23 11:06 pm (UTC)It has a tutorial, but that can be set in various ways. I'm betting it's not set to pop up first, if it's enabled at all. Doing that would probably be a good idea.
>> It's even better if the user can get back to that whenever they want -- GNU Emacs is one of my favorite examples of this, and it's had that feature for at least the last 30-odd years, along with an online hypertext manual that predates the web by over a decade. You'd think more designers would take the hint. <<
If only. This system seems to do either that, or give people a back/forward option, depending on context.
>> It's also infinitely customizable and extensible; that's harder to get right. <<
Very true. This system is designed for that; it's modular and open-source. Actually coding for it requires skill, but they have a skill tree that shows how to learn what you need for it. Take the provider side -- they've got modules for handling X-rays and other scans, departments like emergency room and maternity ward, etc. so you can assemble what you need based on the services you offer.
>>Dreamwidth also gets a lot of things right -- you can always append ?style=mine to any page's URL and get it displayed in a format you're familiar with.<<
Very clever. That's similar to how the user account works, whatever you set it for will reappear whenever you log in.
>> I don't remember which website I saw it on, but it has the word "text" in rather pale outline letters up in the upper right-hand corner. It doesn't clutter the interface much, but any text-oriented user is going to spot it immediately. Not sure what the appropriate icon for getting back to a visual interface would be.<<
I've seen Mode (which pulls down to Text and Visual options) and (picture)/T as a simple toggle. The picture dingbats tend to be a computer or a mini-landscape.