Re: Naming cells in a grid

[Lou Quillio <public -at- quillio -dot- com>]

Patrick Wright wrote:
I'm writing about an applicatin which includes a "spreadsheet"-style
grid. The grid is both editable and updated in realtime ...

Lou Quillio:
Sure hope it doesn't re-sort in realtime, or selecting an item's context
menu will be an anxious affair.

PW:
I'd like to establish conventions for talking about the columns and
cells on the grid.

LQ:
I'm wondering if "grid" and "cell" are the appropriate visualizations
for end-users at all.  Won't they be thinking "list"?

PW:
1) If the item's high bid and low bid are the same, they will both be
coloured red ...

LQ:
It'll be tough to describe the various 'cell' display states in a
narrative.  I can picture a screenshot with well-designed call-outs
doing a better job.

PW:
4) To hide the low bid for an item, open the context menu for the item,
choose *Hide Column*, and select *Low Bid* from the submenu.

LQ:
The user can hide a column on a per-item basis?  That's not hiding a
column, it's hiding a value, yes?  Seems like an odd behavior; assume
this functionality reflects the display shown to third parties.  In any
case, it sounds like "Hide Column" doesn't hide "columns."

PW:
5) To add a popup alert the first time a profit is projected for the
sale of an item, open the *Notify* menu, and choose Alerts. On the
*Alerts* dialogue, select the *Notify me on projected profit* checkbox,
then click *OK*.

LQ:
I'd want an inline checkbox for this, right at the end of each row --
with maybe a "Check All" in the heading.  (I know you're not designing
the UI, but I'm starting to see how a flawed UI may be complicating your
task.)

PW:
Questions:
1) When is it better to refer to a column by on-screen name ("low-bid"),
and when by the logical name ("the item's low bid")?

LQ:

## Low Bid ##
The lowest big offered for the item.

## Est. Return ##
The difference between your cost and the current high bid.  Green
indicates a profit; red means current bids are not yet profitable.
[Would plain black be better than red?]

PW:
2) Should I use the words "column" and "cell", for example, "the low-bid
column" or "the item's low-bid cell"?

LQ:
I'd say end-users think primarily in terms of their "list" and their
"items" (rows).  They'll grok columns with an explanation of what each
means, plus the color indications.

Unless the UI depends on it (like, if the context menu varies by column
... ugh), I'm thinking there's no reason to get into "cells."  They
already get it.  Where necessary, I'd go with "value," or even "price."
If you find yourself *having* to talk about cells, something's wrong.

PW:
3) Should the column or cell names be highlighted, e.g boldface, as they
are GUI elements (like a button), or should I use italics, quotes...?

LQ:
The vendor *must* have conventions for this, yes?

But, if not, the best choice (imo) is an inline graphic of the column
head if at all possible (even scaled-down a little).  If these can
appear comfortably in the narrative *and* look exactly as they do in
surrounding screenshots, there's no confusion.

PW:
4) Is there a good generic term for "grid" in this case, that is, the
block of rows and their columns? This application has more than one grid
on-screen.

LQ:
Think like the end-user.  I don't think they see a grid or cells, just a
list.  They'll know what you mean if you say "table," but I'd stay away
from all conceptions that reduce to X-Y.

Just a guess, but I'm thinking it's time to get completely away from
development metaphors and become a user.

Seems like the cells being editable in situ is complicating things,
forcing the idea of "cells."  Maybe you can get around this so:

"Double-click an item's Target Price to enter a new value."

The more complicated a UI, the more important it is to say less.

LQ

-- 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lou Quillio
Box 459, Cambridge, NY USA 12816-1143
http://quillio.com/
http://stc-techvalley.org/
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