View Issue Details
| ID | Project | Category | View Status | Date Submitted | Last Update |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0019143 | MMW 5 | General | public | 2022-06-01 15:04 | 2022-09-22 01:31 |
| Reporter | zvezdan | Assigned To | |||
| Priority | normal | Severity | minor | Reproducibility | always |
| Status | closed | Resolution | reopened | ||
| Product Version | 5.0.4 | ||||
| Target Version | 5.1 | Fixed in Version | 5.0.4 | ||
| Summary | 0019143: Caption of all buttons that open dialog boxes should end with "..." | ||||
| Description | Here are some examples: - Open URL or File / Browse (and all other "Browse" buttons, e.g. in "Manage database") - Locate moved/missing files / New folder (in fact, the "New folder" button in all "Select folder" dialog boxes) - Addons / Add - Options / Library / Set formats - Options / Library / Metadata lookup / "Set sources" and "Select" | ||||
| Tags | No tags attached. | ||||
| Fixed in build | 2664 | ||||
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Fixed in 5.0.4.2651 |
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Seems implemented on all but New Folder on 2651. |
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Fixed in 2652 |
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It's not fixed for New Folder in the Locate moved/missing files dialog on 2652. |
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Fixed in 2653 |
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We had actually already reviewed this at 0017953 -- the approach we'd taken was "Don’t use an ellipsis whenever an action displays another window—only when additional information is required. Commands whose implicit verb is to show another window don’t take an ellipsis, such as Advanced, Help, Options, Properties, or Settings." i.e. it's generally required for a menu item that is an action and when further actions are non-obviously required to complete an action (Drakinite gave a similar explanation 0001900) rather than every time another dialog is opened. Otherwise the menu ends up filled with ellipses and looks kind of messy. Note that not all apps take the above approach, but if you look at various other modern consumer apps (e.g. File Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Spotify, etc.), you'll find: - it's not used when opening a dialog that is not an action (e.g. Settings; Options; Addons; Downloads; History) - it's not used when opening a dialog that is obviously a tool and won't be mistaken for an action (e.g. Developer Tools ; Task Manager) - it's not used when opening a dialog that obviously requires further action (e.g. Properties, New Folder) So we may want to re-remove the ellipsis for: File > Open URL or File Edit > New playlist, New AutoPlaylist, Properties, Advanced search Tools > Options, Addons Buttons: New Folder, Browse, Select and change the 'Set Sources...' buttons to 'Select'. This isn't a big deal one way or the other, but I do find that MM is a bit full of ellipses now. |
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I tried to google that Windows Experience that you quoted in another issue, but cannot find it. Could you please provide a link? AFAIK, the dialog boxes have at least Cancel/Close button, maybe Ok and similar. Firefox and Chrome don't open Settings/Options dialog boxes, but they show them as web pages. They have applied modifications in their settings immediately without requiring confirmation by click on the Ok button, or discarding the modifications in settings by click on the Cancel button. Downloads, History and Developers Tools are not dialog boxes either. They also don't have any Ok/Cancel button. I don't know which program has Task Manager in the menu, but the Task Manager also don't have Ok/Cancel buttons. Properties called from Windows Explorer from Organize menu doesn't have Cancel/Ok buttons. New folder in Windows Explorer doesn't open any dialog box, it simply adds a new folder to the current one and allows direct editing of its name. |
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MS's original guidelines: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/uxguide/ctrl-command-buttons Discussions of the above: https://weblogs.asp.net/dixin/ellipses-in-ui-command-text https://uxdesign.cc/dot-dot-dot-7ce6170bfc7f This article is particularly instructive: https://medium.com/nyc-design/do-you-really-know-how-to-use-the-ellipsis-fdc4fa93264c it references Everett N. McKay’s book 'UI is communication': Use on command labels only to indicate that more input is required to perform the command. Ellipsis are a constant source of confusion on desktop UI. Note that ellipses aren’t used for this purpose in mobile UI. Commands normally have immediate effect, whereby the command is executed immediately after an interaction. Ellipses are added to labels to indicate when a command isn’t immediate — when more input is required. Many people mistakenly believe that ellipses indicate that the command displays a window or dialog box. The difference: If the purpose of a command is to display a window or dialog box, ellipses aren’t needed. Another important consideration is what modern apps such as MS file explorer are doing (especially in comparison to earlier versions of the app). With the above in mind, I'd re-remove the ellipsis for: Edit > New playlist, New AutoPlaylist, Properties, Advanced search Tools > Options, Addons Buttons: Browse Also, a minor unrelated change: change the 'Set Sources...' buttons to 'Select...' |
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OK, removed the ellipsis for Options, Addons, New Playlist, New Autoplaylist, Properties, Advanced Search + changed the 'Set Sources...' buttons to 'Select...' in build 5.0.4.2664 |
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Verified changes on 2664. |
