vista规范记录—balloons

Balloons

1.    Balloons have an icon, a title, and body text, all of which are optional.

2.    While balloons inform users of non-critical problems, they don’t prevent problems. If it’s critical, use an error message dialog instead.

3.    The information should be describing a problem or a special condition, but not a supplemental information.

4.    The problem or special condition can be detected immediately.

5.    The explanation should be concise, but not very detailed.

6.    Using a balloon will not steal the input focus.

Balloons are an alternative to infotips, dialog boxes, and in-place messages. In contrast to tooltips and infotips:

● Balloons can be displayed independently of the current cursor location, so they have a tail that indicates their source.

● Balloons have a title, body text, and an icon.

● Balloons can be interactive, whereas it is impossible to click on a tip.

In contrast to modal dialog boxes:

● Balloons don’t steal input focus or require interaction.

● Balloons identify a single, specific source. Modal dialogs can have multiple sources, or no specific source at all.

In contrast to in-place messages:

● Balloons are more noticeable.

● Balloons don’t require available screen space or the dynamic layout that is required to display in-place messages.

● Balloons remove themselves automatically after a timeout.

Remove a balloon when:

● The problem is resolved or special condition is removed.

● The user enters valid data (for input problems).

● The balloon times out. By default balloons remove themselves after 10 seconds, although users can change this by modifying the SPI_MESSAGEDURATION system parameter.

When users click a balloon, just dismiss the balloon without displaying any other UI or having any other side effect. Unlike notifications, balloons shouldn’t have close buttons.

Whether to use an icon.