Wireshark · Wireshark-dev: Re: [Wireshark-dev] Start and stop capture toolbar buttons?

[Evan Huus <eapache@xxxxxxxxx>]

The *proper* (for certain values of that word) way to decide this issue is really to do a usability study, however that is expensive/time-consuming so unless Riverbed wants to make that investment it isn't likely to happen with any degree of rigour.

(though if there is sufficient interest it may be worth taking the opportunity at this year's Sharkfest to put together something simple and informal)

Either way, we aren't going to have any hard data for the expected release of 1.10 unless that gets bumped back a *lot*. The best we can do is probably a quick poll, so I've created just that:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1VFyNGmHtbdl827XziWGIHX5KfoxuF4MIaigzQAJph00/viewform

Hopefully the results will be illuminating.

Evan

On Mon, Apr 8, 2013 at 6:30 PM, Laura Chappell <laura@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Ok... I just gotta jump in here. I’m probably causing Gerald major headaches on the icon issue… <sorry Gerald>

 

IMHO, I think the “media control” icon look is going to cause confusion. Specifically the red “record” button to start capture.

That red button doesn’t say “start” to me… it says “stop.”  (Or  perhaps I’m interpreting it incorrectly and it is actually Hal … grin.)

 

What about simple green/red with media control widgets inside?  

 

I understand that someday we may have playback functions, but I hope that would be buried in a right-click function or somewhere else - not on the main toolbar. Can't imagine it's a #1 requested feature. 

 

I know you folks have put in a lot of thought on the new icons and getting rid of the NIC card image is a great idea... but I wonder if going the direction of media player icons (and the red “record” button in particular) is going to cause confusion.

 

Laura

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Gerald Combs [mailto:gerald@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Sent: Monday, April 08, 2013 10:13 AM

To: Developer support list for Wireshark

Subject: Re: [Wireshark-dev] Start and stop capture toolbar buttons?

 

On 4/7/13 5:12 PM, Guy Harris wrote:

>

> On Apr 7, 2013, at 10:40 AM, gerald@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

>

>> http://anonsvn.wireshark.org/viewvc/viewvc.cgi?view=rev&revision=4877

>> 6

>> 

>> User: gerald

>> Date: 2013/04/07 10:40 AM

>> 

>> Log:

>> Change the "stop capture" icon to a Great Big Huge Square to try to

>> make it more obvious (particularly at 16x16 pixels) that it and the

>> "start capture" icons work like media controls.

>

> OK, the filling in those buttons is a bit bigger than, say, some of

> the images in

>

>            

> https://www.google.com/search?q=start+recording+button&hl=en&client=sa

> fari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=EAliUZDkKOWciQLDroHYDA&

> ved=0CD8QsAQ&biw=1024&bih=786

> 

> or in

>

>            

> https://www.google.com/search?q=stop+recording+button&hl=en&client=saf

> ari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=yAliUdCvOqX9iwLK0YC4Cw&v

> ed=0CDMQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=786

>

> although it's not bigger than the one in

>

>            

> http://www.androidpit.com/en/android/market/apps/app/com.goatella.ispe

> ak/iSpeak-Button

>

> The smaller center looks OK to me - is this a small-button (16x16) issue?

 

A GIS for "record button" returns a variety of styles, mostly round and red with varying border sizes:

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=record+button&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=jkF&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=LudiUax3x_uLArLTgNgM&ved=0CDQQsAQ&biw=1033&bih=732

 

I'm not sure which is more correct. We could look at the built-in audio recorder on each major OS we support but that doesn't help much. Sound Recorder on Windows has less border and more filling, while QuickTime Player has more border and less filling. GNOME's is all filling and no border.

 

 

> Also, the stop button in the first image in the latter search:

>

>             http://sweetclipart.com/pause-play-and-stop-buttons-996

>

> is all red - should ours be?  Or, alternatively, should the square be red, like:

>

>            

> http://www.telax.com/blog/2013/03/feature-friday-stop-recording-button

>

> (the start button being redder than the stop button might be a little bit odd - a red circle in a start button seems to be the standard, but maybe stop would be helped by a red indication as well).

 

The "stop capture" button is gray with a darker gray shadow.

Unfortunately this completely fails the Awful Monitor Test. I'll try a different color as Evan suggested.

 

 

If you squint just right the current layout has a sort of logic to it.

"start capture" and "stop capture" are respectively round and square.

They behave and look like the "record" and "stop" buttons on audio equipment. "Start capture" and "restart capture" are both round and red.

If you press either of them you capture packets. "Interface list" and "capture options" are both round and *not* red, i.e. they're associated with the "start capture" button but don't capture any packets. I suppose to be more consistent we should make the capture filter button round and not red as well.

 

___________________________________________________________________________
Sent via:    Wireshark-dev mailing list <wireshark-dev@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Archives:    http://www.wireshark.org/lists/wireshark-dev
Unsubscribe: https://wireshark.org/mailman/options/wireshark-dev
             mailto:wireshark-dev-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe