Types of dialogue The purpose of instruction dialogue (sometimes called the systems information interface) is to provide instructions and other information about the system’s operations, functions, and structure. The information might be presented in text or graphic form (e.g., a hierarchy chart or a table of menus). The taskbar that shows the open or active programs at the bottom of a Microsoft Windows 95 screen and a detailed Microsoft Word help screen on a particular topic are good examples. Assistance dialogue is an interactive process intended to help the user find something; the help index and the little character in the corner of a Windows 95 screen are good examples. Note that the detailed explanation displayed at the end of the help process is instruction dialogue. Assistance dialogue normally requires a response of some type; instruction dialogue often does not. Question-answer dialogue is designed to solicit user input. Action-oriented question-answer dialogue requires only a single keystroke. For example, in many situations, typing Y (for yes) or N (for no) provides the system with enough information to trigger an action, and typing a single letter or digit is often enough to select a choice from a list of options. Information-oriented question-answer dialogue asks the user to provide more information (a sentence, a paragraph, some data), and the input information is generally not used to directly trigger execution. For example, Figure -1 shows a portion of the Library of Congress Advanced Search screen. Figure -1 A portion of the Library of Congress Advanced Search screen showing an example of information-oriented question and answer dialogue. Explanation dialogue is widely used in multi-media and other hyperlinked structures. The supporting material appears in a separate window or screen and provides a sentence or a paragraph of explanation, often for a hot word or hot phrase. In effect, explanation dialogue performs a glossary function. For example, when the mouse is held on a Microsoft Windows 95 icon, a brief description of the icon’s function appears in a small dialogue bubble. The status window that appears on some mailers after an e-mail message is sent is another example. Graphics display dialogue is common in installation or system evaluation routines. For example, the bar chart near the bottom of the FORMAT window in Figure -2 gives the user a clear sense of the progress of a format operation. The animated bar chart that shows percent completion while an installation routine runs is another example.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 00:24:50 +0000
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