April 22, 2004
Adobe InDesign's Arrow Glut
Some everyday desktop applications have better UI's than others, but we cotinue to use them because they are a standard or are the only tool for the task. Over time we learn the meaning of arcane iconography and make other affordances. Iconographic UI elements can be difficult to learn at first, but with a small enough learning curve they can make things much more efficient. For example, what everyday graphics person doesn't know what the magnifying glass icon do?
I have been using Adobe InDesign CS long enough to understand how to manage the new panel behavior and be mostly intuitive with it. However, I continue to make mistakes or scratch my head a lot when accessing the array of arrow icons at the bottom of the workspace.
Look in the screenshot above (click on it to see it at full size). At the bottom of the app's window are a dozen arrows. Starting from the right hand side and moving to the left, the ones on the far right are for navigating within the window. The set of 5 arrows in the middle are for navigating between pages in the document. Then there is an arrow for setting zoom. At the far left are a pair of arrows that I'm afraid to even try.
Even though I now understand the function of the page navigation arrows there are so many choices close together. I have to stop and think which arrow to click on and inevitable click the wrong one. Just the manual dexterity required is bad enough, but visually discerning 5 tiny icons really takes effort no matter how many times use them.
Yes, arrows are a standard iconic device, and are often a good one. Everything in moderation, please! Software manufacturers are so concerned with offering easy access to so many redundant features, they severely compromise usability and efficiency.