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Revision as of 15:20, 21 June 2007

Home < Slicer3:Human Interface and Style Guide for Developers

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 official text on enabled widgets
white 255 255 255 #ffffff official GUI background
lightestGrey 229 229 255 #e5e5ff theme uses this for mock 'drop shadow' around GUI panels
lighterGrey 223 221 226 #dfdde2 module collapsing frame title background
lightGrey 174 174 174 #aeaeae slices controller & slice viewer icon background
mediumGrey 153 153 153 #999999 unsaved data & widget border color
darkGrey 82 82 82 #525252 low value grey for use in icons
darkOchre 181 100 21 #b56415
mediumOchre 228 166 32 #e4a620
brightOchre 243 172 34 #f3ac22
sliceYellow 237 213 76 #edd54c" yellow slice viewer color-code
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
darkBrown 131 102 72 #836648
mediumBrown 193 115 79 #c1734f
Brown 190 148 98 #be9462
lightBrown 224 194 158 #e0c29e
lightestBrown 241 224 208 #f1e0d0
darkRed 195 46 16 #c32e10
mediumRed 217 37 18 #d92512 fiducial symbol color in icons
sliceRed 243 74 51 #f34a33 red slice viewer color-code
lightRed 228 106 68 #e46a44
lightestRed 230 132 100 #e68464
darkGreyGreen 70 84 48 #465430
mediumGreyGreen 103 142 63 #678e3f
sliceGreen 110 176 75 #6eb04b green slice viewer color-code
lightGreyGreen 138 165 112 #8aa570
lightestGreyGreen 202 230 181 #cae6b5
darkGreen 37 86 57 #255639
mediumGreen 0 127 9 #007f09
Green 47 164 47 #2fa42f
lightGreen 89 198 122 #59c67a
lightestGreen 206 238 216 #ceeed8
darkGreyBlue 72 64 101 #484065
mediumGreyBlue 99 92 133 #635c85
GreyBlue 116 143 173 #748fad
slicerBlue 179 179 231 #b3b387 classic slicer 3D viewer background
lightGreyBlue 208 208 241 #d0d0f1 3D viewer icon background
darkBlue 38 59 139 #263b8b
mediumBlue 56 95 177 #385fb1 mouse mode icon arrow color
Blue 42 113 187 #2a71bb
lightBlue 122 157 194 #7a9dc2
lightestBlue 152 212 213 #98d4d5


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