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Topics on Usability: Creating Hot-Tracking Icons

Date Published: 27th May 2008

Author: SibCode

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Usability of software evolves at a previously unseen pace, becoming more and more user-interactive. Hot-tracking is one of the latest technologies added to the user interface interactivity. Hot-tracking is a user interface concept that provides a visual effect where elements of user interface such as buttons, menu items etc., react to user interaction. Most commonly, the effect works by highlighting GUI elements when the mouse cursor is over, showing them precisely where they are over.

Historically, first hot-tracking enabled applications used monochrome toolbars as 'regular', only displaying a single 'hot' button in color when the mouse cursor was over it. Since then, a more vivid approach to user interfaces prevailed, displaying all buttons on a toolbar in color, and highlighting a 'hot' button in a different manner.

From the designer perspective, there are several states of icons to be drawn, representing the various states of user interface elements. There are normal, disabled and 'hot' versions of each icon to be designed.

When designing a product, it is essential to provide all versions of icons for best possible usability. But what if your software comes with hundreds of images? Do you have to draw each single one of them in all the three states? In a word, yes; but it's not necessary that you do it by hand. There exist special products for designing icons aimed at producing all three versions out of a single 'normal' original.

The latest version of IconLover recognizes the need, and makes it possible to automate the process of making 'hot' versions of icons. The product produces 'hot' versions of icons for hot-tracking completely automatically by applying the Hot effect, thus making it possible for designers to concentrate on making unique images instead of drowning in technicalities. The effect, as implemented in IconLover, is more realistic and pleasant-looking than any 'hot' version of a toolbar than the default Windows implementation of hot-tracked items.

A free trial version of IconLover is available for download at www.aha-soft.com.

Tags: perspective, images, interaction, pace, microsoft, usability, three states, hot button, single one, user interface, mouse cursor, user interfaces

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