Recently I downloaded and installed Google Desktop for the Mac (GDM). I don’t have anything to say about GDM since I haven’t had reason to use it much, but I do have plenty to say about the Google Updater.
Google Updater is installed along with GDM. Updater makes it easier to manage the installation (and removal) of Google applications. It reminds me of Windows XP’s Add/Remove Programs control panel, right down to the placement of the “open” and “uninstall” buttons in the interface. However, the thing that troubles me most about the Google Updater interface is how Google uses disclosure triangles in the interface.
According to the Apple Human Interface Guidelines entry on disclosure triangles, they “(allow) the display, or disclosure, of information or functionality associated with the primary information in a window. A disclosure triangle is not used to display additional choices associated with a specific control, such as a pop-up menu. If you need to do this, use a disclosure button.” (emphasis mine)
For an example of how disclosure triangles work in the Mac OS, take a look at this short clip from the Finder:
[qt:/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/Finder.mov 349 309]
Here we see the correct behavior of disclosure triangles. They display closed by default, and each triangle only controls the group to which it is assigned. If I open the “Users” folder and then open the “System” folder, the two hierarchical lists remain open. The behavior of the second control has no effect on the behavior of the first.
Now let’s have a look at the way Google Updater uses disclosure triangles:
[qt:/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/googleupdater.mov 239 206]
The first thing that grabbed me right off the bat is that the disclosure triangles aren’t closed by default. But the most glaring difference between Google Updater and the Apple HIG is that the controls are dependent on each other. When I click on the “My Software” triangle to collapse the list, the “Explore Google Products” group opens automatically. The same thing happens when I try to close the “Explore Google Products” group.
Google is known for making radical changes to interfaces in an attempt to simplify the interactions. I’m not convinced that this is an improvement. I’d even go out on a limb to say that Google has missed the mark here, and would do better to adhere a bit more closely to the Apple HIG.
