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WebWord Weblog Posting

Posting Date: June 20, 2002
 

Pet Market Back Button (Macromedia) -- "The Pet Store application was designed to allow users to navigate both forward and backward through the application states by using the browser’s Forward and Back buttons. This makes the application more useable as users are able to use navigation techniques that they are familiar with." (Comments: If you are confused, this article is about navigation with Flash.)

 

  

Reader Comments...
 

They've invented a back button? Wow, what's next?

Posted by: on June 21, 2002 02:38 AM

 

Nice little app. More impressive than the back button is that they're shipping tiny helpless kittens via ground shipping. I hope they at least poke air holes in the boxes!

Posted by: Joshua Kaufman on June 21, 2002 10:58 AM

 

"More impressive than the back button is that they're shipping tiny helpless kittens via ground shipping. I hope they at least poke air holes in the boxes!"

No need, we freeze-dry 'em to dormancy. Just add water, et voila! 8)

(A back button makes easy sense when navigating a web of documents, but the metaphor can be a strained fit when applied to a single-display, multi-state application. Still, when people are in browsers some are used to hitting "go back". Should that mean go to the previous page? to a previous display? should it undo purchases? should it only undo viewing choices? What interface changes happen when browsers display applications as well as documents?)

Regards,
John Dowdell
Macromedia Support

Posted by: John Dowdell on June 21, 2002 03:24 PM

 

"Still, when people are in browsers some are used to hitting "go back". Should that mean go to the previous page? to a previous display?"

I would guess most people would expect the back button to go back the last modal state or the last state which required to the user to do something before the application could do anything else. For functionality of the back button to be truly usable, I think it's important that usability guidelines are laid down quickly. Hopefully, this is one of the usability guidelines that NNGroup is currently working on? If guidelines aren't implemented soon, who knows what people will have the back button doing? It could get very messy very quickly.

"should it undo purchases? should it only undo viewing choices?"

Since using the Web, I haven't been able to undo a purchase by clicking the back button and I certainly hope that it doesn't start working that way anytime soon. As for undoing viewing choices and interface changes, I'm not sure what you mean by those.

Posted by: Joshua Kaufman on June 21, 2002 07:21 PM

 

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