Re: Master-Detail Interface Examples
Re: Master-Detail Interface Examples
- Subject: Re: Master-Detail Interface Examples
- From: Andy Lee <email@hidden>
- Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2008 15:23:02 -0400
On Oct 6, 2008, at 11:59 AM, I. Savant wrote:
On Mon, Oct 6, 2008 at 8:54 AM, Jamie Phelps
<email@hidden> wrote:
I'm looking for examples of well-designed Master-Detail interfaces.
I have
tried several different layouts for the details and haven't been
satisfied
with any of them.
This is almost impossible to answer usefully without at least a) a
description of your master list and detail view's fields, or b) a
screenshot of your best attempt to date. I'd recommend starting there.
Also it may not be clear what you mean by a Master-Detail interface.
To me the first thing that comes to mind is a single window with two
panes: a list of masters, and a detail view for the currently selected
master. When you single-click a list item, the detail view updates
automatically. This makes more sense than a double-click, because it
preserves the invariant that the detail view reflects the currently
selected master. The detail view would automatically update if you
use the arrow keys to select different masters. The Finder in column
mode is like this -- the last column shows details of the currently
selected file or folder.
In business applications, the detail view often looks like a data-
entry form. A simple example would be a column of text fields that
are aligned along their left edges, with a right-justified label in
front of each. (I think there may even be HIG docs about this kind of
layout.)
Another option, which can be used instead of or along with the above,
is that when you double-click a master (or select it and hit Return),
it opens a new window containing the detail for that master. Thus you
can open detail windows open for multiple masters at the same time.
The Finder's Get Info window is like this, although you open it with
Command-I instead of a double-click.
Yet another paradigm is an inspector paradigm, where you have a single
global inspector window whose contents change automatically when you
select different masters. An example is the Finder's Inspector window
(hit Command-Option-I).
However, UI design questions are usually directed away from
cocoa-dev to "other" lists,
Like this one:
<http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/mac-gui-dev/>
--Andy
so I'm not sure if this is considered
on-topic. If the moderator lets it live, I'm interested in what you
have so far and in the community's opinions.
... and of course I'd have my own. :-)
--
I.S.
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