Coding Horror: UI Follies, Volume III

December 13, 2005

UI Follies, Volume III

Ever wonder how you could possibly find something in that complex, ten-tabbed options dialog? How about a search function on the options dialog, as featured in Quest's Toad for SQL Server:

Toad for SQL Server options dialog

Aside from the fact that it's completely insane to build an options dialog so complicated that it needs a search function.. it's not a bad feature.

In a previous life, I used the Oracle version of this product quite a bit. How do you know your options dialog is too complicated? When it takes an entire minute-- a full 60 seconds-- for the system to respond after clicking on the Tools, Options menu item.

Posted by Jeff Atwood View blog reactions

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Comments

Spotlight search in OS X works in it's System Preferences dialog. It's pretty handy. I believe the new Search in Vista will work in the similar manner. Spotlight just highlights the SysPref applets that match your search.

Scott on December 14, 2005 04:31 PM

A couple of years ago I've been using freeware version of Toad for Oracle work. I preffered it to
SQL Navigator. However last version I saw recently is absolutely horrible in UI terms.

Rimantas on December 14, 2005 06:10 PM

Jeff -

If you're doing Oracle work, you really owe it to yourself to check out PL/SQL Developer by www.allroundautomations.com.

I've been using that tool for years and it is wonderful. If only MS could come up with a tool half as good for SQL Server! It even has intellisense! All kinds of productivity features.

HTH,

Leigh

Leigh Kendall on December 15, 2005 02:38 PM

I think it's truly pathetic when people need to "customize" dialog enter/tab key behavior. If you didn't notice, on the right side of the image, there are a bunch of check-boxes that will let you change the behavior of hitting tab/enter.

Standard Windows dialogs close/confirm with the Enter key, and let you navigate using Tab.

I think it is sad when people try to change these behaviors, and worse when I have to do it my self (some high-profile users of my app are a little incompetent and cannot get into their head DO NOT PRESS ENTER)

Armen on December 16, 2005 02:11 PM

never mind that you would have to know which TAB is the one that contains the search option =oD

Eber Irigoyen on December 21, 2005 07:02 PM

> which TAB is the one that contains the search option

It's on every tab, at the bottom. It's a fixed area, like the actual tabs themselves.

> when people need to "customize" dialog enter/tab key behavior

In their defense, this is referring to the datagrid that displays records specifically, not the dialog itself.

Jeff Atwood on December 22, 2005 12:41 PM