OpenOffice.org icons

Rodd Clarkson rodd at clarkson.id.au
Fri Apr 29 11:41:05 UTC 2005


On Fri, 2005-04-29 at 09:35 +0200, shrek-m at gmx.de wrote:
> nodata wrote:
> 
> >Quick question - does anyone find the new openoffice.org icons difficult
> >to understand?
> >
> 
> not really, afair
> 
> writer = lines
> calc = table
> impress = monitor/beamer
database =  silo

Ah, the age old question of iconography.   Icons only mean something if
you know what they mean (which is of course self serving).

Someone once told me that you should never teach students how to use a
program based on the icons in the application because they may well mean
nothing in similar applications and then the person will have troubles
using alternative (but comparable) software.

I think it's a fair cop.  Take a look at lots of applications and
imagine all the other meanings icons could have if you didn't know what
they did and I think you'll get the gist.


Rodd




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