The Drill-Down Model

The drill-down, or master/detail, model of site organization is widely used and is familiar to most web surfers. The site first presents a master list of options. For example, a movie ticket site might first display a master list of current movie titles. Users browse this list and click a title to drill down for more information. At this point, the web application returns detailed information based on their

Schoice, namely, a detail page displaying the specifics of the movie. The drill-down model is always constructed with a master list and a detail page. Of course, the drill-down model doesn't have to stop at two levels of information. In fact, our movie detail page most likely shows a master list of theaters showing the chosen movie. Click a movie theater to drill down again to show the detailed show times.

Likewise, the drill-down model isn't limited to one direction. In fact, to complete the interface model, many sites let users drill through information in every direction—eventually forming a circuit of information. For example, the page that displays movie show time information for a specific theater also contains lists of other movies currently playing at the theater. The user drills through that movie list to the original detail page that displays the specifics of the selected movie. From there the user drills through to the specific show times for the selected movie and also sees additional links to movies playing at the target theater. See the circular pattern? Using the drill-down model, you ensure that the user always feels your site is responsive and quick because the information they want is always a click away.

In addition to publicly displayed information, the drill-down model is also well suited for any database administration pages you provide for site maintenance. For example, the administration page for the movie ticket site might first display a master list of current movies. The site administrator can click a movie title to display a detail form in which movie specifics can be modified.



Mastering Dreamweaver MX Databases
Mastering Dreamweaver MX Databases
ISBN: 078214148X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 214

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