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Mobile/Fennec/Extensions/UserInterface: Difference between revisions
Mobile/Fennec/Extensions/UserInterface (view source)
Revision as of 21:59, 11 September 2009
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(Created page with ''''Work in progress page''' When thinking about how to design the user-interface of your Fennec Add-on, there are a couple of constraints that are different from fitting with Fi…') |
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These two overlap, given that the design of Fennec was itself heavily influenced by point number 1, above. Let's deal with this one at a time: | These two overlap, given that the design of Fennec was itself heavily influenced by point number 1, above. Let's deal with this one at a time: | ||
==Designing a UI for mobile== | |||
There's a mid-sized and furiously-growing body of knowledge out there about designing UIs for mobile, and I'm not going to be able to cover it all here, but this should get you started. | There's a mid-sized and furiously-growing body of knowledge out there about designing UIs for mobile, and I'm not going to be able to cover it all here, but this should get you started. | ||
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===Device Characteristics=== | |||
* Small screens | * Small screens | ||
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* Constant but interruptible connection | * Constant but interruptible connection | ||
===Mobile User Characteristics=== | |||
Mobile user is mobile. Here is a taxonomy drawn | Mobile user is mobile. Here is a taxonomy drawn | ||
Mobile | |||
** On the move - already navigating in the real world | ** On the move - already navigating in the real world | ||
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===Other Resources=== | |||
Other resources | Other resources | ||
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==Fitting in Fennec's user-interface== | |||
Fennec's design is the result of applying a lot of what comes up in section 1.1 and some of what comes up in 1.2 (look for more results from 1.2 in the future!). It had to be quite different from Firefox on the desktop, but it also tries to respect the spirit of the desktop design. Users coming from desktop Firefox, on encountering Fennec, shouldn't be too surprised about what's there and isn't, what they can expect to be able to do, and how certain key things (bookmarking, identity, tabs, etc.) work. | Fennec's design is the result of applying a lot of what comes up in section 1.1 and some of what comes up in 1.2 (look for more results from 1.2 in the future!). It had to be quite different from Firefox on the desktop, but it also tries to respect the spirit of the desktop design. Users coming from desktop Firefox, on encountering Fennec, shouldn't be too surprised about what's there and isn't, what they can expect to be able to do, and how certain key things (bookmarking, identity, tabs, etc.) work. | ||
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From a practical add-on developer's perspective, the first big question will be "where can I surface my add-on"? | From a practical add-on developer's perspective, the first big question will be "where can I surface my add-on"? | ||
===Quick Fennec UI tour=== | |||
===Equivalents for desktop UI areas=== | |||
That's fine if you're creating something from scratch, but what about bringing your desktop Firefox add-on over to Fennec's different UI-space? What if you're using | That's fine if you're creating something from scratch, but what about bringing your desktop Firefox add-on over to Fennec's different UI-space? What if you're using | ||
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or in gestures | or in gestures | ||
===What about preferences?=== | |||
Most add-ons have preferences. On the desktop, some add-ons create a preferences dialog while others use pages in content. Pages in content are still a workable strategy in Fennec, but dialogs are something we've really tried to avoid. To help out add-ons authors, we've created a system to let you put your prefs inline in the add-ons manager: | Most add-ons have preferences. On the desktop, some add-ons create a preferences dialog while others use pages in content. Pages in content are still a workable strategy in Fennec, but dialogs are something we've really tried to avoid. To help out add-ons authors, we've created a system to let you put your prefs inline in the add-ons manager: | ||