Friday, November 14, 2014

Demo Tip: Application Toolbars – Start Hidden

Many software products offer a set of toolbars or palettes that are specific to the application.  I suggest starting your demos with these hidden, when possible, to reduce the apparent complexity of the offering. 

I recently saw a demo where the presenter started with a “clean page” surrounded by no fewer than 5 icon-rich toolbars – looked pretty complicated to me…!  Interestingly, he only used 2 of the 5 toolbars during the course of the demo.  The 3 extra toolbars reduced the available screen real-estate and added to the perception of making the product look too complicated.

If possible, start with your application toolbars and palettes off and then bring them in as needed (and only as needed…!).


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