Mode (user interface): Difference between revisions

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{{About|a transient state in user interfaces|modes in videogames|Game mode|other uses|Mode (disambiguation)}}

{{Distinguish|Multimodal interaction|Modality (human-computer interaction)}}

In [[user interface]] design, a '''mode''' is a distinct setting within a [[computer program]] or any physical machine [[Interface (computing)|interface]], in which the same [[user input]] will produce perceived results different from those that it would in other settings. Modal interfacecomponentsinterface components include the [[Caps lock]] and [[Insert key|Insert]] keys on the standard [[computer keyboard]], both of which typically put the user's typing into a different mode after being pressed, then return it to the regular mode after being re-pressed.

An interface that uses no modes is known as a ''modeless'' interface.<ref>[http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/term_321.txl Usability Glossary: modeless] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022205105/http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/term_321.txl |date=2007-10-22 }}</ref> Modeless interfaces avoid ''mode errors'', in which the user performs an action appropriate to one mode while in another mode, by making it impossible for the user to commit them.<ref>[http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/mode-error/ Usability Glossary: mode error]</ref>

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[[Larry Tesler]], of [[Xerox PARC]] and [[Apple Computer]], disliked modes sufficiently to get a personalized license plate for his car that read: "NO MODES". He used this plate on various cars from the early 1980s until his death in 2020. Along with others, he also used the phrase "Don't Mode Me In" for years as a rallying cry to eliminate or reduce modes.<ref>[http://www.mail-archive.com/[e-mail]/msg00409.html Origins of the Apple Human Interface] by Larry Tesler, Chris Espinosa</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040511051426/https://computerhistory.org/events/lectures/appleint_10281997/appleint_xscript.shtml Origins of the Apple Human Interface - full transcript]</ref>

Bruce Wyman, the designer of a [[multi-touch]] table for a [[Denver Art Museum]] art exhibition<ref>[httphttps://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2009/06/technology-for-experiences-sake-guest.html Technology for Experience's Sake: Guest Post by Bruce Wyman]</ref> argues that interfaces for several simultaneous users must be modeless, in order to avoid bringing any single user into focus.<ref>[http://www.ixda.org/discuss.php?post=43435#43442 Bruce Wyman's post] at the ixda.org mailing list</ref>

==Design recommendations==

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Alternatives to modes such as the [[undo]] command and the [[Recycle bin (computing)|recycle bin]] are recommended when possible.<ref name="Implementation">{{cite web|url=http://quince.infragistics.com/Patterns/Modal%20Panel.aspx#Implementation|title=Modal Panel - Implementation|website=Infragistics.com]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506101851/http://quince.infragistics.com/Patterns/Modal%20Panel.aspx#Implementation|archive-date=2013-05-06}}</ref> HCI researcher [[Donald Norman]] argues that the best way to avoid mode errors, in addition to clear indications of state, is helping the users to construct an accurate [[mental model]] of the system which will allow them to predict the mode accurately.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Design rules based on analyses of human error|year=1983|doi=10.1145/2163.358092|last1=Norman|first1=Donald A.|journal=Communications of the ACM|volume=26|issue=4|pages=254–258|s2cid=47103252|doi-access=free}}</ref>

This is demonstrated, for example, by some [[stop sign]]s at road intersections. A driver may be [[Operant conditioning|conditioned]] by a [[four-way stop]] [[sign]] near his or her home to assume that similar intersections will also be four way stops. If it happens to be only two way, the driver could proceed through if he or she sees no other cars. Especially if there is an obstructed view, a car could come thoughthrough and hit the first car broadside. An improved design alleviates the problem by including a small diagram showing which of the directions have a stop sign and which do not, thus improving the [[situational awareness]] of drivers.

===Proper placement===