Re: Question: Balloon Help for Web-application?

[Ed Wurster <GlassNet -at- gmail -dot- com>]

On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 08:32:20 -0400, Steven Oppenheimer 

> A client has a Web-based application, and I've created a context-sensitive
> help system using RoboHTML.
> 
> Now, however, the client wants to do something along the following lines:
> 
> When users put their cursor over keywords in the application (or, possibly,
> if they click on those keywords), some kind of "balloon" type help opens
> up, with either definitions of the key term, or a brief snippet of help,
> but without opening the full Help system.

I would be careful in this area. For example, I am using gmail, which
has annoying text box floating in the margin. Not only annoying, but
I'm seeing more and more crashes with features like this.

So I would really push standards. Keep it simple. If something should
be a link, then use a link. If the application is Java, then it is
something that would be done that way.

-- 
Ed Wurster
http://www.ewurster.com/blogger

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