I noticed that my iChat windows were migrating up the screen. At first I thought I was imagining things, since it happened only occasionally. I finally paid attention and realized what was going on. Now that I understand it, I can't decide if this is a handy feature, a quirk with no better choice, or a bug that Apple should fix.
When you type a message long enough to cause one or more linewraps, iChat does one of three things:
What surprised me is in italics above. I keep iChat windows around the outside of my screen (top, bottom, and left, with the dock on the right), and my iChat windows at the bottom kept ending up a little higher because I had typed a few sentences. I would move the window down and find it higher up after a few more minutes.
Obviously, this is a minor issue, and I could live with it, reposition my windows, change chat applications, or stop typing such long sentences! But it brings up interesting questions about good GUI design and a chance to second-guess Apple on a product that is still young. That's why I'm posting.
Having an application do what you expect it to do (which of course can vary from person to person) is a hallmark of making it feel natural (easy to use), and easy-to-use software is Apple's speciality.
I can think of a few other choices of behavior iChat could have in situation (2):
I think I'd prefer any of (2a), (2b), (2c) to (2).
I'd like to know if anybody else has noticed this, thought about this, or would like to help me think it through logically (deciding what it SHOULD do), so I can send Apple feedback if there is a good case for tinkering with the iChat design.
When you type a message long enough to cause one or more linewraps, iChat does one of three things:
(1) If there is room below the iChat window, the window gets taller (top stays the same, bottom moves down) to make room for each extra line of text. When you finish typing your text, the window returns to its previous size and position.
(2) Otherwise (i.e., when the bottom of the window is at the bottom of your screen): If there is room above the iChat window, the window gets taller (bottom stays the same, top moves up) to make room for each extra line of text. When you finish typing your text, the window returns to its previous size with the top in its new (higher) position.
(3) Otherwise (i.e., the iChat window is the full height of your screen): The window stays the same and the text entry area becomes scrollable by moving the cursor up and down (but no scrollbars). When you finish typing your text, the window retains its previous size and position since they didn't change.
(2) Otherwise (i.e., when the bottom of the window is at the bottom of your screen): If there is room above the iChat window, the window gets taller (bottom stays the same, top moves up) to make room for each extra line of text. When you finish typing your text, the window returns to its previous size with the top in its new (higher) position.
(3) Otherwise (i.e., the iChat window is the full height of your screen): The window stays the same and the text entry area becomes scrollable by moving the cursor up and down (but no scrollbars). When you finish typing your text, the window retains its previous size and position since they didn't change.
What surprised me is in italics above. I keep iChat windows around the outside of my screen (top, bottom, and left, with the dock on the right), and my iChat windows at the bottom kept ending up a little higher because I had typed a few sentences. I would move the window down and find it higher up after a few more minutes.
Obviously, this is a minor issue, and I could live with it, reposition my windows, change chat applications, or stop typing such long sentences! But it brings up interesting questions about good GUI design and a chance to second-guess Apple on a product that is still young. That's why I'm posting.
Having an application do what you expect it to do (which of course can vary from person to person) is a hallmark of making it feel natural (easy to use), and easy-to-use software is Apple's speciality.
I can think of a few other choices of behavior iChat could have in situation (2):
(2a) Have the window return to its original size and position when you finish typing, i.e., the window moves back down the screen.
(2b) Have the display area (above the text entry area) shrink by one line each time you need a new line in the text entry area, i.e., the previously displayed part of the conversation moves up and you lose a bit off the top. In other words, the border between the upper and lower halves of the window moves up. It would move back down (leaving one line below) after you finish typing.
(2c) Have the text entry area become cursor-scrollable as soon as there are more lines than fit. The window never changes height or position. If this was the behavior, it would make sense for the text entry area to be a few lines high always (whether the extra space was needed or not) because it's confusing to cursor-scroll through text with a 1-line display. By making it, say, 3 lines high all the time, you wouldn't have to scroll until you had 4 or more lines.
(2b) Have the display area (above the text entry area) shrink by one line each time you need a new line in the text entry area, i.e., the previously displayed part of the conversation moves up and you lose a bit off the top. In other words, the border between the upper and lower halves of the window moves up. It would move back down (leaving one line below) after you finish typing.
(2c) Have the text entry area become cursor-scrollable as soon as there are more lines than fit. The window never changes height or position. If this was the behavior, it would make sense for the text entry area to be a few lines high always (whether the extra space was needed or not) because it's confusing to cursor-scroll through text with a 1-line display. By making it, say, 3 lines high all the time, you wouldn't have to scroll until you had 4 or more lines.
I think I'd prefer any of (2a), (2b), (2c) to (2).
I'd like to know if anybody else has noticed this, thought about this, or would like to help me think it through logically (deciding what it SHOULD do), so I can send Apple feedback if there is a good case for tinkering with the iChat design.
