Glossary¶
With the complexity of the Blender project comes the need of a common language with clearly defined terms. The glossary here should help establishing this.
There is another glossary in the Blender Manual, but it contains mostly general terms for the computer graphics context. Here the focus is more on establishing clear technical definitions of the terms used to communicate user interaction concepts. So it is less broad, more technical and targeted at a different audience.
General Terms¶
- Human Interface Guidelines, HIG
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Human interface guidelines are software development documents which offer application developers a set of recommendations. Their aim is to improve the experience for the users by making application interfaces more intuitive, learnable, and consistent.
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This means both applying the same visual design and creating consistent access to and behavior of common elements of the interface – from simple ones such as buttons and icons up to more complex constructions, such as dialog boxes.Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_interface_guidelines
- User Interface, UI
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In the field of human–computer interaction, the User Interface is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine from the human end, whilst the machine simultaneously feeds back information that aids the operators’ decision-making process.
- Usability
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Extent to which a system, product or service can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use.
Source: ISO 9241-11:2018, sec. 3.1.1
- User Experience, UX
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Person's perceptions and responses resulting from the use and/or anticipated use of a product, system or service.
Source: ISO 9241-210:2010, sec. 2.15
While usability is focused on effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction during usage, UX includes more emotional aspects of the usage, but also from expected and past usages. So for example the feelings invoked in a (potential) user when hearing the word Blender, or when visiting the website, are part of the UX. Usability is much more narrow and as such part of the entire UX.
Modal
Actions¶
- Tweak Event
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A tweak event is sent when a mouse button was pressed and the mouse moved a certain minimum distance before the release event. The exact event type is in fact chosen based on the movement direction, allowing different operations to execute depending if you dragged north, north-west, west, south-west, ...
Confusingly we also use the term drag, but it refers to a slightly different action (see Drag Event). Terminology could be improved here.
- Drag Event
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A drag event is sent when a keyboard key was pressed and the mouse moved a certain minimum distance before the release event.
Confusingly we also use the term tweak, but it refers to a slightly different action (see Tweak Event). Terminology could be improved here.
Click Event
Operator
Tool