Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ames!ucsd!sdics!norman From: norman@sdics.ucsd.EDU (Donald A Norman-UCSD Cog Sci Dept) Newsgroups: comp.cog-eng Subject: The Window Focus Problem Keywords: feedback windowing interfaces Message-ID: <663@sdics.ucsd.EDU> Date: 8 Dec 88 17:38:52 GMT References: <318@aratar.UUCP> <651@sdics.ucsd.EDU> <1073@arctic.nprdc.arpa> <8134@megaron.arizona.edu> <329@aratar.UUCP> Reply-To: norman@sdics.UUCP (Donald A Norman-UCSD Cog Sci Dept) Organization: UC San Diego Department of Cognitive Science Lines: 41 In thinking over Chuck Clanton's excellent summary of the issues and findings of his experiments on the "window focus" problem, it occurred to me that all of this may simply be a reflection of our current primative technology. In many ways, the use of multiple windows is like the multiple work areas and stacks of papers on our desks. I have many piles of paper on my desk and shelves, but when I wish to add some thoughts to one working paper, I never make the mistake of writing onto the wrong paper. This is because in the real world, there is a direct coupling between the item being worked on and the tools and place of working. With most of today's computer systems, there is a decoupling of these: the work area is on the screen, but the tool is a mouse or keyboard on the desk. When we reach the point of having high-resolution, touch and stylus sensitive work surfaces mounted within the desk (or like a clipboard), then the entire problem will disappear, because when we will wish to work on one task, we will write directly onto the screen representation for that task. Maybe. (And thinking of the issue this way makes me realize that it is exactly what Steve Draper was referring to in his chapter on "inter-referential i-o," this horrible name meaning the relationship between what is referred to by the input and the output: in direct manipulation (DM) systems, the input and the output are the same. My pen working on the manuscript on the table is this kind of a DM system. My mouse-based window-driven Macintosh is a mimic of a DM system, but it loses in directness because of the loose coupling between the place on which I do my actions (the keyboard and mouse) and the place on which the output occurs (the window). Which is why my input sometimes go to the wrong place. Draper, S. (1986). Display managers as the basis for user-machine communication. In D. A. Norman & S. W. Draper (Eds.), User centered system design. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Donald A. Norman [ danorman@ucsd.edu BITNET: danorman@ucsd ] Department of Cognitive Science C-015 University of California, San Diego La Jolla, California 92093 USA UNIX: {gatech,rutgers,ucbvax,uunet}!ucsd!danorman [e-mail paths often fail: please give postal address and all e-mail addresses.]