The Usability of Transparent Overview Layers

Cox, D., Chugh, J.S., Gutwin, C. and Greenberg, S. (1998)
The Usability of Transparent Overview Layers. In Summary Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - ACM CHI'98, Late-breaking short paper. ACM Press, pages 301-302. Also as Report 1997-609-11, December.

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Abstract

Viewports into large visual workspaces are sometimes supplemented by a separate window that displays a miniaturized overview of the entire workspace. Instead of this separate window, we have layered a transparent version of the overview atop the viewport. Because the overview fills the display, it becomes the largest size possible. An exploratory study indicates that people can use this unusual system, where they switch between layers when performing a construction task.

Bibtex entry

@INPROCEEDINGS { 1998-Transparency.CHI,
CLASS = { SHORT },
AUTHOR = { Cox, D. and Chugh, J.S. and Gutwin, C. and Greenberg, S. },
TITLE = { The Usability of Transparent Overview Layers },
BOOKTITLE = { Summary Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - ACM CHI'98 },
PAGES = { 301-302 },
YEAR = { 1998 },
PUBLISHER = { ACM Press },
VOLUME = { Late-breaking short paper },
NOTE = { Also as Report 1997-609-11, December },
}