Slicer3:Human Interface and Style Guide for Developers

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Slicer Human Interface Design and Style Guidelines

Introduction

3D Slicer (or Slicer) is a large and continuously developing application. Its base is designed to offer substantial core functionality, and its modules extend that functionality to include specialized and cutting-edge research tools and interoperability with other open source softwares. The development effort seeks to simultaneously ensure that Slicer meets the needs of a broad user community, that developers can easily contribute to and extend the application, and that the software remains easy to test and maintain.

These human interface design and style guidelines are a resource for Slicer developers who want to create module interfaces that are easy to learn, understandable and usable, and that conform to Slicer’s general appearance and behavior conventions. The recommendations in this document are designed to be easy for developers to apply and their adoption is strongly encouraged. However, a developer’s interface design can depart from convention when these guidelines appear inappropriate for a particular application.

Organization

This document is organized into the following two sections:

1. Slicer Module Design Principles

2. Slicer Widget and Interface Style Specifics

Within these sections, developers will find recommendations that promote usable and consistent Slicer module interfaces, and link to technical resources where appropriate.



Look and Feel

GUI Style: Try not to add style elements (like foreground and background color, font, relief, etc.) to the interface you create; let the options database (as set up by the vtkSlicerTheme class) specify the style for the widgets in your module so that all modules appear consistent within the Slicer3 application.

Module style

Pop-up windows

Confirm on Delete

Check vtkSlicerApplication::ConfirmDelete setting; if a user has requested to be presented with a confirm on delete, then give them that option.

Event Bindings

With respect to the specification of keyboard accelerators, please follow these three recommendations;

  • Before assigning "hot-keys" to functionality, either in the main Slicer application or in a new module, please consult the table (and design plan) linked below to make sure the key is not already assigned.
  • Across Slicer modules, try to use similar "hot-key" assignments for similar functionality; this consistency makes Slicer easier to learn.
  • Once you assign "hot-keys" in your module, please add those mappings to the table for others to reference.

Application Font

Verdana is the font chosen for the 3DSlicer brand.

Maintaining consistency of type is an important component of maintaining a coherent look and feel for 3DSlicer and any related or derived visual communications. Verdana was designed specifically to be read on a digital display; it is recommended that we use Verdana (or Geneva) wherever possible in 3DSlicer's web presence and online tutorial materials, and wherever reasonable and appropriate in formal printed materials.

Within the software, since it can't be guaranteed that these fonts will be widely available on all platforms, Helvetica or Arial should be used as a substitute. Slicer's theme sets the application font to be Helvetica 8 normal. Please avoid typefaces with serifs.

Icons

Icons can be a powerful way to represent complicated information within a small footprint on the GUI panel. They associate a visual image with data, state, or a particular operation.

  • They should be easy to parse, convey a strong metaphor, and not require significant time for a user to interpret.
  • They should be memorable so that a user can recognize them quickly in future sessions with your module.
  • If an icon already exists within 3DSlicer to represent the data, state or operation you want to indicate, then re-use that icon (indicate visibility with the open/shutting eye, for example.)
  • Note: if the concept is too difficult to represent with a picture, then a text label can always be used instead!

When designing icons, do bear in mind that it's possible to offend users with images that have cultural or polictal connotations. Even colors can have connotations for users in different parts of the world that may be surprising and unintended for the designer and developer. Generally speaking, it's useful to avoid images that contain:

  • icons that depict only hands or feet
  • images of animals
  • maps containing disputed boundaries or region names.
  • lists of countries that are not in alphabetical order.
  • pictures of flags
  • pictures of money

Slicer icon conventions

3DSlicer icons should all be of dimension 21x21 pixels.

Enabled or Enabled + Selected icons should have:

  • a white background (r=255, g=255, b=255, or #FF FF FF)
  • a black hairline along the perimeter (r=0,g=0,b=0, or #00 00 00).

Disabled or Enabled + Deselected icons should have:

  • a grey background, value (r=230, g=230, b=230, or hex value #E6 E6 E6)
  • a grey hairline perimeter of value (r=178, g=178, b=178, hex value #B2 B2 B2).

Downloadable blank icons:

These icon blanks are provided for download and use:

  • Enabled or Enabled+Selected: conventional Slicer icon
  • Disabled or Enabled+Deselected: "deselected" Slicer icon
  • Enabled Menubutton: conventional Slicer menubutton icon
  • Disabled Menubutton: "disabled" Slicer menubutton icon

Icons currently used in Slicer's Base

Below is a figure of icons currently in use in 3DSlicer. If the icon you need is already used in Slicer, we encourage its re-use in your own module (the visibility icon is a good example). However, if an icon is re-used, make sure you are using it to convey the same meaning/function -- icons shouldn't have different meanings in different places. Finally, make sure any new icons designed for a module don't duplicate ones already in use elsewhere in Slicer.

Slicer icons

Widget-specific patterns to follow

Providing help

Popup messages (dialog, warning, error, confirm, etc.)

Language

Credit and Logos

Controls and Layout

Progress Feedback

Colors: application palettes

Currently being modified... The Slicer3 color palettes are shown below. Developers of code, web content and training materials are encouraged to make color choices for GUI components according to this palette, bearing in mind that some of the colors are linked with special meaning, such as error (errorRed), warning (warningYellow), and system (systemBlue) messages.


main palette

name show me R G B hex use in slicer
black 0 0 0 #000000 text on enabled widgets
white 255 255 255 #ffffff GUI background
lightestGrey 229 229 255 #e5e5ff
lighterGrey 223 221 226 #dfdde2
lightGrey 174 174 174 #aeaeae
mediumGrey 153 153 153 #999999 unsaved data ?
darkGrey 82 82 82 #525252
darkOchre 181 100 21 #b56415
mediumOchre 228 166 32 #e4a620
brightOchre 243 172 34 #f3ac22
sliceYellow 237 213 76 #edd54c"
lightOchre 244 233 127 #f4e97f
darkOrange 194 74 24 #c24a18
mediumOrange 225 112 18 #e17012
brightOrange 244 130 20 #f48214
lightOrange 243 184 70 #f3b846
lightestOrange 239 213 128 #efd580
redTint 224 182 175 #e0b6af
darkGreen 68 86 50 #445632
brightGreen 104 143 66 #688f42
dustyGreen 138 165 111 #8aa56f cor slice
greenTint 204 244 166 #ccf4a6
darkBlue 73 64 102 #494066
mediumBlue 98 91 129 #625b81 system message code
lightBlue 136 127 163 #887fa3 unsaved data?
slicerBlue 179 179 230 #b3b3e6


message palette:

name show me R G B hex use in slicer
errorRed 255 0 0 #ff0000 error message/dialog accent
systemBlue 15 102 192 #0f66c0 message/dialog accent
warningYellow 255 226 30 #ffe21e warning message/dialog accent


accent palette:

name show me R G B hex use in slicer
magenta 255 0 255 #ff00ff 3D viewer cube & icon accent
purple 191 73 190 #bf49be icon accent
darkPurple 139 39 133 #8b2785 icon accent
logoGreyBlue 113 127 152 #717f98 logo color & icon accent
IGTGrey 68 69 91 #44455b logo color & icon accent
logoDarkGrey 48 56 60 #30383c logo color & icon accent
logoLightYellow 240 217 138 #f0d98a logo color & icon accent
logoMediumYellow 248 191 37 #f8bf25 logo color & icon accent
logoOrange 240 108 46 #f06c2e logo color & icon accent
logoRed 247 45 30 #f72d1e logo color & icon accent
NAMICBlue 0 99 181 #0063b5 logo color & icon accent
SPLGreen 0 153 102 #009966 logo color & icon accent