Welcome to the Windows 7 Desktop

Chaitanya SareenSenior Program ManagerMicrosoft Corporation

PC24

A Brief History of the Windows Desktop

Areas for Improvement and Goals

Detailed Windows 7 Desktop Demo

Extensibility and Best Practices

Q&A

Agenda

Windows 95

Vista

Areas for Improvement and Goals

evolving the design

Too many launch surfaces

Switching windows may be error-prone

Redundancy

Too much noise

Arranging windows involves acrobatics

Areas for Improvement

<= 14Maximum number of windows open

at one time for most sessions

Vista Peak Window Count How many windows do people have open?

0-5 6-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50+0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

peak number of open windows

perc

enta

ge o

f ses

sion

s

0.21%Percent of sessions with the taskbar

on the right side of the screen

4.97%Percent of sessions that have the taskbar

set to auto-hide

Vista Taskbar Settings How often are options enabled?

Key Goals: Early and Often

Things you use all the time are at your fingertipsIt is easy to get to the programs and destinations you use all the time, withless mouse movement and fewer clicks.

Manage your windows with confidenceYou can switch to the right window quickly without mistakes and effortlessly position windows the way you want them.

You are in controlThe desktop reflects your style. You get to personalize the experience, choosingwhat is important to you, including how and when you receive notifications.

Clean and lightweightThe desktop experience feels organized, light, open and is a pleasure to use.Visuals and animations are delighters the first time and every time.

Desktop Sneak Peek

demo

Delight your customers

extensibility

IconsOverview

Face of your program Large and small icons Only customer can pin Color hot-track

IconsBest practices

Are you putting your best foot forward? Make sure your icon looks great Check different DPIs Check different glass colors and disabled glass

How does Color Hot-track look? Determined by your icon’s dominant color

Jump ListsOverview

Mini Start Menu for your program

Surface key destinations and tasks

Customizable Accessible via right-click

and via drag

Jump ListsBest practices

Do destinations apply to your program? Nouns: Items consumed/created by your program Dynamic based upon individual user pattern Recent or frequent or custom list?

Do tasks apply to your program? Verbs: Program actions Tasks should not require your program to be running Tasks are static and apply to all users Tasks should globally apply to your program, not a

specific window

Thumbnail ToolbarsOverview

Remote-control for a window

Surface key commands Up to seven buttons Accessible from

taskbar thumbnail

Thumbnail ToolbarsBest practices

Does your window require controls? Surface commands that users access regularly Commands must be contextual to a window Don’t duplicate Jump List tasks

Can you replace a Desktop Toolbar?

Custom SwitchersOverview

Surface custom UI (e.g. TDI/MDI)

Custom thumbnails for each window

Appears in your program’s window list

Custom Switch Targets Best practices

Does your program have switchers that need to be surfaced? Do users need to regularly switch to them?

Provide a visual representation for your client area’s switcher Taskbar bitmap (thumbnail) Peek bitmap (real size)

Overlay IconsOverview

Surface important notifications

Appears over your program’s icon

Overlay IconsBest practices

Do you need to surface notifications? Does this help the user make a decision? Single icon at a time (LIFO) No animations Ideally, application-specific

Group vs. Ungroup

Can you retire your icon in the Notification Area?

Progress BarsOverview

Surface important progress

Appears in your taskbar button

Progress BarsBest practices

Does your program require progress status? Does this help the user make a decision? Do you already surface a progress dialog? One detailed progress at a time

Additional Desktop ElementsNoteworthy updates

Quick Launch has been removed Do not prompt customers to add shortcuts Folder remains for app compat

Strongly Recommend IDeskBand2 All deskbands will be drawn on glass Goal is to eventually retire legacy deskbands

Additional Desktop ElementsNoteworthy updates

Notification icons will not be visible by default Calling Shell_NotifyIcon for a balloon tip will

temporarily show your icon User in control

Gadgets may be programmatically launched

Careful about custom non-client interaction

Call to Action

Integrate with the new desktop to delight your customers with ‘early and often’ Icons Jump Lists Thumbnail Toolbars, Overlay Icons, Progress Custom Switchers

Familiarize yourself with the Windows UX Guidelines for new features

References

Related sessions: Windows 7: Integrate With the Windows 7

Desktop Windows 7: Design Principles for Windows 7

Windows UX Guidelines Channel 9/10 website E7 Blog

Conclusion

Questions? When will I get these bits? Join me at the Track Lounge Email me: csareen@microsoft.com

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