mchalkley
|
| Posted: 04/25/2003, 10:02 AM |
|
I'm wondering what the best way to implement a help mechanism to an entire CCS application would be - sort of like hover-event tips. The idea would be to give users an easy way to click on a column label and have the browser display some descriptive information about that column.
Would it be feasible, for example, to do something with Java that would allow the user to click on any label, and a pop-up window with help information retrieved from a table in the database would be displayed? If so, could it be a page function, instead of having to be a part of every label (as long as the labels were named the same as the primary key data in the help table, of course)?
Along the same lines, I'd like to be able to pop up a new window if the user clicked on the value of certain fields, and the window would contain descriptive information contained in another column of that row. (For example, given a column called Status, containing the string "Pend App - Mgmt", the Notes column for that row which would be displayed in a pop-up window if they clicked on the Status field might say "Pending Approval by Management - This step follows Approval by Committee and precedes change in status to Researching.")
Or, most likely, somebody has a better idea for implementing a help system across an entire application?
|
|
|
 |
Edd
|
| Posted: 04/25/2003, 11:15 PM |
|
Sounds like you are taking on a "management headache".
You obviously need to assess your target audience and assess if they are repetative users or one time users.
My suggestion is not to make it to difficult to build / maintain. The cost benefit will not be there. If you do decide to undertake it I would suggest the following:
1. Use the "Title" property that automatically provides tooltips in CCS.
2. If your screens are for single use and are complicated - break them up into multiple enrtry screens where the prior selections determine the next pages questions. Use the redirection for this.
3. If your screens are for multi use then "quick and clean" is the best and provide pop-up help screens describing the whole page from a clickable icon. Operators want to enact their processes and not be encumbered by over friendly design.
Use the K.I.S.S. principle wherever possible in design - not always pretty but very cost effective in the long run.
Hope this helps 
Edd
|
|
|
|
|
