Multiple-document interface: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:55, 13 September 2013

Revision as of 08:17, 18 September 2013

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==Comparison with single document interface==

In the [[usability]] community, there has been much debate about whether the multiple document or single document interface is preferable. Software companies have used both interfaces with mixed responses. For example, [[Microsoft]] changed its [[Microsoft Office|Office]] applications from SDI to MDI mode and then back to SDI, although the degree of implementation varies from one component to another. Generally, SDI is seen{{by whom|date=January 2012}} as more useful in cases where users work with more than one application. :3

The disadvantage of MDI usually cited is its lack of information about the currently opened windows: In MDI applications, the application developer must provide a way to switch between documents or view a list of open windows, and the user might have to use an application-specific menu ("window list" or something similar) to switch between open documents. This is in contrast to SDI applications, where the window manager's [[task bar]] or [[task manager]] displays the currently opened windows. However, in recent years it has become increasingly common for MDI applications to use "tabs" to display the currently opened windows, which has made this criticism somewhat obsolete. An interface in which tabs are used to manage open documents is referred to{{by whom|date=January 2012}} as a "[[tabbed document interface]]" (TDI).