How to judge metro app whether allow tap?

Question

How to use eye judge metro app some part allow tap, other part nor allow tap?

thanks!

Answer 1

Hi Hot,

There is no visual indicator that tells you what you can tap on.  It should be intuitive in your application what you would tap on.  Is that what you are asking?  Can you give an example if I did not understand your question correctly?

-Jeff

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Jeff Sanders (MSFT)

Answer 2

There isn't a standard for Metro app UI design?

Answer 3

Hi Hot,

I don't think I understand the question.  Can you give me an example?  How do you know what you can tap on in a Desktop application today in Windows 7 with a touch screen (yes you can do this)?  There is no visual indicator for this.  Do you have a proposal?

-Jeff

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Jeff Sanders (MSFT)

Answer 4

sorry,I no any proposal.

I want to know blow picture how distinguish "File"、"Pictures" etc. text whether allow tap?

Answer 5

I think in this example it is pretty evident.  I would expect to be able to click on the tiles, button and the green text.  I would not expect to Click on the Header portion of this view however.  One of the aspects of Metro Apps is that the top portion is the title.  If there was a back button for navigation I would expect to click on that to return to a section I previously navigated from.

Some of this is learned, some is intuitive from the object on the screen and some of this is learned by investigating the UI.  I think as a UI designer of your application, it is up to you to make a UI that leads the user though your app.  Look at the sample apps like weather and stocks to get an idea for this.

Does this help?

 

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Jeff Sanders (MSFT)

Answer 6

Actually I noticed that and it bothered me too - in the file picker hot_blood's screenshot shows, tapping/clicking on "Files" is the only way to jump directly to a different top-level part of the filesystem/shell namespace (Computer, Documents, etc.), but this isn't evident at all and as you allude to it's inconsistent with the rest of the system. I think for the most part the system is reasonably clear and consistent about what you can tap on, but there are some warts like this here and there.

Answer 7

Yes, I think clicking on a title is not very clear.  'Files' is not really a folder.  Maybe a Home Icon would be a good way to represent going to the top level?

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Jeff Sanders (MSFT)

Answer 8

Well, in general the kind of feedback I'm trying to give is to point out issues I have with the UI in scenarios that are important to me, and not so much trying to push my own pet ideas for solutions. I figure this is probably more useful because I'm not a professional UI designer, and don't have the full context of the Win8 project, but I don't think I need to be a "professional problem-noticer" to point out my own issues. I'm afraid if I detail a solution, someone reading it might fixate on the specifics of that, think "that's a stupid idea", and not think about the problem.

But FWIW, it seems to me that just having a chevron pointing down from Files (to open the top-level menu) would be a simple and clear solution.

Answer 9

I like the chevron idea.  Another idea would be to do something like this:  Files...

 

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Jeff Sanders (MSFT)

Answer 10

OK I understand your question but there is no way to see if something allows tap or not & there is no standard...

However most everything on-screen allows you to tap it to carry out an action & very little is there just because it can be....so my advise is to try & click everything because even in most apps, like messaging & people clicking the apps icons for which services your connected to even brings things up, when you'd think they'd do nothing & just show you at a glance what your connected to.

Also in skydrive app the text that looks like it just shows what your in right then is clickable like the picture above which lets you move between folders in skydrive, such as your folder, stuff shared with you, and more...

---There is no visual indicators...just try & click everything basically so you can learn in the app what is clickable & what's not.