a split feature usable ?
30 Jul 2007 - 7:31am
6 replies
379 reads
Sandra
2006
Hello,
We are developping an application which can display on the same screen
several views of the same data. For this, we use a split feature.
Does anyone have good examples of applications where the split feature looks
"usable" ? I have already tried the Firefox "Split Browser" add-on but I
would like to see how it behaves in other applications.
Thanks in advance
Sandra
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Hi Sandra,
Ask longtime HTML code-monkeys about Homesite and they'll tell you about the
split-pane coding window that enables working on two different sections of
the same file. The split was horizontal and could be repositioned - both the
upper and lower portions scrolled independently. This feature was hugely
helpful by letting you keep one section of the code visible while you worked
on something else that was dependent on it.
Alas, the Homesite editor was not well served by the Macromedia/Adobe
transitions. But some nearby longtime webbie should be able to show you.
Michael Micheletti
On 7/30/07, Sandra <sbelfils at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> Does anyone have good examples of applications where the split feature
> looks
> "usable" ? I have already tried the Firefox "Split Browser" add-on but I
> would like to see how it behaves in other applications.
>
I'm not sure precisely what each of your splits would be showing, so it's
difficult to give a good answer. However, I know that statistical software (
e.g., JMP or Stata) often has a way to show multiple views of data at the
same time.
On a side note, the interaction between windows can be important. For
example, in JMP you can select data in one window (say a bar chart) and have
it highlight the data in the other windows (e.g., a scatterplot) as well -
this highlighting can be very helpful.
Paul Nuschke
Human Factors Analyst
ELECTRONIC INK(c)
www.electronicink.com
BBEdit for the Macintosh still has a split screen feature similar to
the one Michael describes for Homesite. I'm always struck by how the
top pane (that emerges after the split) has its content centered in
precisely the right spot. It just works. BBEdit also has a nice
sychronized scrolling feature for comparing two independent text
documents.
I think BBEdit prides efficiency over usability. It's powerful but
it took me several years to discover the split screen feature, and I
gave up on the entire program outright when I first encountered it.
We've since reconciled.
// jeff
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted from the new ixda.org
http://beta.ixda.org/discuss?post=18805
And then there's Microsoft Excel, where you can freeze portions of a
spreadsheet and then scroll them independently. They have a couple
different ways to make this work, though, and I usually have to
consult Help to remember which one I prefer.
Cheers,
Liz
Twingine is an elegant little app that shows Google and Yahoo results side
by side on a split screen:
http://www.twingine.com/
Cheers,
Julie
On 7/30/07, Sandra <sbelfils at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> We are developping an application which can display on the same screen
> several views of the same data. For this, we use a split feature.
>
> Does anyone have good examples of applications where the split feature
> looks
> "usable" ? I have already tried the Firefox "Split Browser" add-on but I
> would like to see how it behaves in other applications.
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> Sandra
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Also many use Split feature of MS word to edit documents.