Recommended Reading

• Armstrong, Strohm. "Previewing the Common Controls DLL for Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, Part II." Microsoft Systems Journal, November 1996.

Discusses the new ListView control, including the LVS_EX_ CHECKBOXES style.

• Capucciati, Maria R. "Putting Your Best Face Forward: Designing an Effective User Interface." Microsoft Systems Journal, February 1993.

Offers many good ideas on keeping things simple.

• Cooper, Alan. About Face: The Essentials of User Interface Design. Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., 1995.

Chapter 23, "Toolbars," has a good discussion about tooltips, primarily with respect to providing help for toolbars. There is also a good discussion of tooltips vs. balloon help and why tooltips are better. He describes tooltips as "one of the cleverest and most effective user interface idioms I've ever seen."

• Horton, William. The Icon Book: Visual Symbols for Computer Systems and Documentation. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1994.

The ultimate resource for icon design information.

• Howlett, Virginia. Visual Interface Design for Windows. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996.

Chapter 5, "Universal Design Principles," presents a good discussion of basic design principles that help achieve simplicity. Chapter 8, "Affordances, Realism, and Dimension," presents helpful information about visual affordance and the use of 3D. Chapter 13, "Interface Makeovers," presents a couple of case studies of interface makeovers, including a makeover of Microsoft Encarta.

• Microsoft Corporation. Designing for the User Experience. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press, 1999.

See the discussion of menus, controls, and toolbars for useful guidelines for selecting and using controls.

• Tognazzini, Bruce. Tog on Interface. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1992.

Chapter 28, "More Short Subjects," discusses the problems with balloon help.