Michael Gaigg: Über UI/UX Design

How to trigger “Edit Mode”

In a recent discussion it occurred to me that there are really only 3 ways to trigger "edit mode", i.e. tell the map that I want to add/edit/remove something:

• Binary
• On
• Selection

Binary

The edit mode is either turned on or off. Turned off is the default mode and requires explicit action by the user to turn it into edit mode with the advantage that user is aware of this switch, which might also trigger other behaviors to be turned off (map tips,...) or removed from the map (scalebar, overview map,...)

Use "binary" if editing is a major part of your app so that this distinction becomes crucial.

On

On is a subset of the binary case where the edit mode with all its functionality is always on by default and any interaction with the map allows users to select features to be edited or deleted, or add something new.
This case might conflict with other mouse events (e.g. a left mouse button up event usually triggers a map tip) and therefore needs to be very well thought-through before implementing.

Use "on" if you can fit it into your workflows and you can oversee and have control over most/all map functions.

Selection

Selecting an edit tool through a toolbar for example is the classical way of setting the map into edit mode. It speaks very loud GIS expert to me and seems to not being familiar to the average map user, i.e. it may be difficult to find the right tool from the sway of icons, learn (and remember) that this action is required AND know that the mode needs to be turned off again after being done.

Use "selection" if your map app already has a toolbar and you want to be on the safe side.

How do you prefer doing it?

What are your preferences/experiences?

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About Michael Gaigg

Michael Gaigg is a User Interface Expert at Esri. He is the team lead of the UI Engineering group in Professional Services and has been designing map applications for over 8 years.