[转]三.人机接口设计 3扩展用户接口

 

扩展用户接口

Extending the Interface

目录

[隐藏]

• 1 基于现存接口 Build on the Existing Interface
• 2 不要给现存的对象赋予新的行为 Don’t Assign New Behaviors to Existing Objects
• 3 谨慎的创建新的接口控件 Create a New Interface Element Cautiously

This section describes how to extend the Mac OS X user interface when your application requires an element or a behavior that doesn’t already exist. When a need arises that can’t be met by the standard elements, you can extend the set of controls using these guidelines, provided that the new element or behavior supports Apple’s interface design principles. This section contains information on how to determine when it’s appropriate to go beyond the guidelines, how to use the existing interface elements to build new elements, and what to avoid when you design additional interface elements.

本小节将描述如何扩展Mac OS X的用户接口。当Mac OS X没有提供您的程序所需要的接口控件时，您可以遵照这些Apple的接口设计准则来扩展用户接口。本小节将介绍何时才是创新的合适时机，怎样使用以现存的接口元素来创建新的控件，以及当您设计新的控件时需要避免的问题等。

基于现存接口

Build on the Existing Interface

People rely on the standard Mac OS X user interface for a consistent, predictable user experience. Don’t copy other platforms’ user interface elements or behaviors in Mac OS X, because they may confuse users who aren’t familiar with them.

标准的Mac OS X用户接口能给用户带来一致的，可预期的用户体验。不要试图在Mac OS X上复制别的平台上的控件和行为，那样会使不熟悉这些平台的用户感到困惑。

If you need to extend the interface of Mac OS X, the best place to begin is with the already defined visual and behavioral language. Think about what the appearance communicates to people (the look) and how they expect the element to behave (the feel).

如果您需要扩展Mac OS X的用户接口，最好从已经定义好的可视化效果和行为开始。仔细考虑应该提供什么样的界面（外观）以及用户期望怎样的行为（体验）。

Visual cues, such as the arrow on a pop-up menu, help people recognize familiar elements. People learn to associate certain behaviors with specific elements based on their appearance. For example, people recognize push buttons by their rounded shape and look for a label that identifies the action the button causes. This particular appearance distinguishes a push button from other types of elements. When people click a button, they expect it to be highlighted to indicate that the action took effect, and they expect the action to take effect immediately. People may also expect that clicking a button will have additional behaviors related to it, such as dismissing a dialog or changing the content area of the active document.

可视化的组件，例如弹出菜单上的箭头，能够帮助用户认识熟悉的用户接口元素。用户能够根据接口元素的外观判断其实际的行为。例如，用户通过按钮周围的阴影和在上边的文字标记来识别按钮的操作。这些特定的外观将按钮和其他界面元素区分开来。当用户点击按钮时，按钮所指示的操作应该被高亮并且被立即执行。用户可能期望按钮有一些额外的行为，例如取消一个对话框或者改变当前文档的内容区域。

不要给现存的对象赋予新的行为

Don’t Assign New Behaviors to Existing Objects

When you use existing interface building blocks, use them in the standard way. Make sure you do not change the behavior of standard elements. When you need a new behavior, design a new element for it. If elements behave differently in different situations, the interface becomes unpredictable and therefore harder to figure out. This can adversely affect the user’s confidence in your application.

如果您使用现存的接口控件，请按照标准的方式使用他们，不要试图更改他们的行为。当您需要一个新的行为时，就为它设计一个新的接口控件。如果接口控件在不同情况下行为各自不同，用户接口就会变得无法预期而难以理解。

谨慎的创建新的接口控件

Create a New Interface Element Cautiously

Be very cautious about creating new interface elements because you may introduce unnecessary complexity. You will have to work extremely hard to make sure that any newly introduced elements fit in with those provided by Cocoa and Carbon. Additionally, as the Aqua user interface continues to evolve, your custom elements will require updating to adapt to changes in Aqua.

创建新的接口控件时应异常小心，因为您可能引入不必要的复杂性。您可能需要做许多额外的工作以让新引入的接口控件和Cocoa，Carbon提供的接口控件一致。此外，Aqua用户接口一直在演变，您定制的接口控件也需要一直更新以适应Aqua中的变化。

Before implementing a new interface element, make sure that you can’t use existing elements or a combination of them to achieve the desired result. Usability testing is essential for determining whether a new element works.

在实现新的接口控件前，确定您无法使用现存的就接口控件或者它们的组合来达到您期望的意图。您应该对新的接口控件进行可用性测试。