UI guidelines of the latest update of Windows Apps

Question

Hi,

I noticed some changes in the latest updates of Windows 8 Apps (Mail, Calendar, Contacts).
In Mail app there is a search button above the list of messages but in "Windows 8 User experience guidelines" document there are written these guidelines:

Don't add any UI controls for search in your app.
Your app’s position in the list of apps in the search pane is determined by how often the
user searches your app by using the Search charm. As a result, adding an additional
control for search in your app UI could actually make your app more difficult to search
when your app is not the main app on screen, because it may not be as visible in the
search pane's app list.
Additionally, adding your own controls for search unnecessarily duplicates features and
might confuse people. For example, one way that app-specific search UI might confuse
people is by causing the user to have more than one search history with a particular app.
One search history would be based on use of the Search charm, which the system tracks
and maintains. Another independent search history would be based on the use of the
app-specific search UI.

Don’t place search UI in the app bar.
Maintain the app bar as a place to show commands that are unique and specific to your
app.

Also in Contacts app when you edit a contact, Save and Cancel buttons are no more placed in the bottom app bar but they are placed in the top right corner and do not have a label.

The document dates back to 14 August 2012. Do guidelines have changed in the meantime?
If so, could you please update the document so we can build better applications?

Thank you very much.

Answer 1

Thanks for your update. We have noticed these changes and will make modifications later.

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Robin [MSFT]
MSDN Community Support | Feedback to us
Develop and promote your apps in Windows Store
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help.

Answer 2

So is it correct to put a Search button (that opens Search charm) in the bottom app bar?

Answer 3

Thanks for your update. We have noticed these changes and will make modifications later.

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Robin [MSFT]
MSDN Community Support | Feedback to us
Develop and promote your apps in Windows Store
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help.

Modifications to what? The apps or the docs?

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Rebecca M. Riordan

Answer 4

Hi,

I think the latest versions of the app are great and these modifications simplify the use of the apps so I was asking to modify the documentation in order to have the latest guidelines.

Answer 5

FWIW, I don't always agree with the MS guidelines, but I agree with these. They enhance discoverability, and that's important.

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Rebecca M. Riordan

Answer 6

Hi,

in a tipical page with a list of items with filters and sortings, with the latest guidelines, is it to correct to put a Search button that opens Search charm in the bottom app bar?
Or is it better to put a search button at the right of sortings?

Answer 7

Hi,

in a tipical page with a list of items with filters and sortings, with the latest guidelines, is it to correct to put a Search button that opens Search charm in the bottom app bar?
Or is it better to put a search button at the right of sortings?

I don't see that adding a button to open the Search charm adds anything to the usability of the page you show. They're only a swipe and a click away from the charm anyway, and adding additional UI would imply that your button did something special.

As far as I can tell, the UI guidelines haven't changed: only add search UI when searching is the primary (or a critical) function of your app or for find-on-page functionality, and don't put search UI (of any type) in the app bar.

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Rebecca M. Riordan