Pulagatha Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 So I just had a kind of random thought. I'd like to see what a vertical menu bar looked like. So I spent the night putting a concept together. It occurred to me the reason I might have done this is because I thought, "since all monitors are widescreen now." that it wouldn't be that illogical for usage. The menu options would quickly (instantaneously?) fade in and out, and the drop down menus would all be contained in the same area. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Memphis Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I like the basic Idea of a vertical menu, but the biggest trouble is that the total wasted space is much higher than having a horizontal menu bar. Now if this menu bar could auto hide when not in use then I would like it allot better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cork1958 Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 :x Ian S., Max Norris, theyarecomingforyou and 2 others 5 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsupersonic Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 That looks absolutely hideous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgevella Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 From my experience, I tend to learn keyboard shortcuts and use them instead of the menu. Having that much screen estate taking by something that I might use once or twice a day would bother me. I think an auto-hide option on that menu would be great. ^ To the guys above saying it's hideous: it's a functionality prototype, it's not meant to look good :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulagatha Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 I like the basic Idea of a vertical menu, but the biggest trouble is that the total wasted space is much higher than having a horizontal menu bar. Now if this menu bar could auto hide when not in use then I would like it allot better. I was thinking about that too, but then I thought "Well, this is notepad it would be minimal on Notepad." I did toy with the idea of putting the icon bar underneath the menu options, but I didn't think that worked as well as putting it in the title bar. It keeps everything in the same corner this way. Also, it didn't feel like Notepad was a program a lot of people would use fullscreen, so it didn't seem too much like a disadvantage. I initally was going to try this out with Gimp, since the menu options would be more diverse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKay Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 It occurred to me the reason I might have done this is because I thought, "since all monitors are widescreen now." that it wouldn't be that illogical for usage. It's good logic, it's the reason I have my taskbar on the side instead of the bottom. +Legendary and Pulagatha 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anibal P Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 From my experience, and we have quite a few applications that use menus like that, is that it's not a nice implementation and takes up too much space, there's a reason horizontal is still the standard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulagatha Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 From my experience, and we have quite a few applications that use menus like that, is that it's not a nice implementation and takes up too much space, there's a reason horizontal is still the standard I kind of agree. It just seemed like an interesting option that was worth putting a concept together for. I do think it would be an interesting option for bigger programs though because the single column space would cut down on moving the mouse from going through a horizontal menu, then going through a vertical menu. Since all the options would stay in this one designated column I think it might cut down on amount of space to move the mouse around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xilo Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I kind of agree. It just seemed like an interesting option that was worth putting a concept together for. I do think it would be an interesting option for bigger programs though because the single column space would cut down on moving the mouse from going through a horizontal menu, then going through a vertical menu. Since all the options would stay in this one designated column I think it might cut down on amount of space to move the mouse around. This is why we have UI/UX designers and not programmers/managers/etc doing the work. Monstrosities like this would otherwise happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Montage Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 We read left-to-right, and as such our words are wider than they are tall. This means that if you wish to use words rather than icons in a menu, you are already onto a loser with this layout. Moreover, your idea that a larger app would benefit is hokum, because the wealth of menu items needed would require pop-outs half a mile long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulagatha Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 We read left-to-right, and as such our words are wider than they are tall. This means that if you wish to use words rather than icons in a menu, you are already onto a loser with this layout. Moreover, your idea that a larger app would benefit is hokum, because the wealth of menu items needed would require pop-outs half a mile long. There wouldn't be a pop out menu. That is why I put a back button. Also, there is an icon bar at the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Montage Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 There wouldn't be a pop out menu. That is why I put a back button. Also, there is an icon bar at the top. Even worse then. Menus that you have to navigate backwards and forwards on? Not fast to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xilo Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 There are some apps that do something similar, but it's more for different windows/functionality then menu options. With some companies pouring millions into user experience and user interface design research, I'm sure if this was a good solution one of them would have done this. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleNeutrino Veteran Posted January 21, 2014 Veteran Share Posted January 21, 2014 wow that is just horrible. the menu takes up wayy to much space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulagatha Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 Even worse then. Menus that you have to navigate backwards and forwards on? Not fast to use. You didn't seem to explain anything with that comment. This was the reasoning I posted earlier. "I do think it would be an interesting option for bigger programs though because the single column space would cut down on moving the mouse from going through a horizontal menu, then going through a vertical menu. Since all the options would stay in this one designated column I think it might cut down on amount of space to move the mouse around." Now that there have been the standard forum derogatory comments, is there any really good points someone can make against this concept? Come on, you can hate and articulate better than this. I believe in you. Be sure to use facts, you're going to have to be better at arguing than this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 From my experience, and we have quite a few applications that use menus like that, is that it's not a nice implementation and takes up too much space, there's a reason horizontal is still the standard Well if you where putting all the tools from the vertical menu bars in Photoshop or 3DSMax into a horizontal one, THEN you'd be talking about wasting space :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulagatha Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 We read left-to-right, and as such our words are wider than they are tall. So you're saying it would talk less time to move the cursor up and down. There are some apps that do something similar, but it's more for different windows/functionality then menu options. With some companies pouring millions into user experience and user interface design research, I'm sure if this was a good solution one of them would have done this. :/ Doesn't LightWave do something like this already? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan R. Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Widescreen has changed the layout of our applications for sure (Ex. Outlook has moved to vertical reading panes over top/bottom reading panes as default) but you have to see where the functionality and flow fail in your menu in comparison. Microsoft already went through all this R&D and came up with the ribbon bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Montage Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Now that there have been the standard forum derogatory comments, is there any really good points someone can make against this concept? Write it off as forum hate if you wish, but your concepts are just inherently wrong. I explained myself perfectly well. I am not saying that moving a cursor up or down takes any more or less time, I am saying a menu system that requires a "back" button and so on is slow and unintuitive. Come on, you can hate and articulate better than this. I believe in you. Be sure to use facts, you're going to have to be better at arguing than this. Trust me, it will take someone with much greater ideas than this to condescend me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulagatha Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 Widescreen has changed the layout of our applications for sure (Ex. Outlook has moved to vertical reading panes over top/bottom reading panes as default) but you have to see where the functionality and flow fail in your menu in comparison. Microsoft already went through all this R&D and came up with the ribbon bar. Yeah, I thought about bringing up the fact that this is kind of what they are doing with Outlook now. There was a designer I talked to that worked on something at Microsoft. It wasn't much discussion, but I did emphasize that there should be borders on the buttons. I can't stand how cheap Metro looks with single blocks of color and only text designating where a button begins and ends within a column (instead of, having borders to show the designated area.) Speaking of the Ribbon Bar, I don't know why they don't make the File Explorer amendable and have a list of buttons that can be added or removed from the search bar to allow user preference. The same way VLC does with their icon bar. Also, how is the concept bad again? You seemed to imply it, but you sort of skipped over the explanation. I am saying a menu system that requires a "back" button and so on is slow and unintuitive. You didn't explain the reason why again. I think kept in a single column it takes less time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan R. Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Also, how is the concept bad again? You seemed to imply it, but you sort of skipped over the explanation. [...] You didn't explain the reason why again. I think kept in a single column it takes less time. I'm not a developer or designer so I'm not educated in and haven't studied the ways people interact with software. It's going to be hard to have a discussion on cosmetics when you're looking for cold, hard facts to support one way or another. The truth will be in the adjectives people choose to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulagatha Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 I'm not a developer or designer so I'm not educated in and haven't studied the ways people interact with software. It's going to be hard to have a discussion on cosmetics when you're looking for cold, hard facts to support one way or another. The truth will be in the adjectives people choose to use. I'm not very well educated either as some on this forum are going to be happy to hear. I'm all for the adjectives as long as it isn't simply derogatory. I am genuinely asking the forum "what is wrong with it?" because I don't see a problem with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dot Matrix Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Anything is automatically better than a drop down. I think once you click it, it should "expand" and "Collapse" the menu items instead of switching completely to a new panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c.grz Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 The beauty of drop down menus is that you can easily navigate between the different levels of menus. With your method if you're 3 or 4 levels deep you'll have to click back 3 or 4 levels if you want to get back to the main menu toolbar. With drop downs; it's just a matter moving your mouse and hovering on the new menu option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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