Research Of Novel Methods Of Object Property Setting Based On Continuous Operation Mode

A human-computer interaction task can be generally divided into three phases: object selection, command selection, and object property setting. In GUIs, fluent operations between the three phases generally can reduce the whole operation time for an interaction task and enhance users’ interaction experience. Some studies considering different combination methods between the first two phases have been done. However, there is few work for how to quickly and fluently combine the phases of command selection and object property setting.The methods to set object property are essential for the combination fluency between command selection and property setting. In the study, we proposed three methods of object property setting. (1) Line-Sliding, map the linear movement length of the cursor to the object’s property value’s change; (2) Circle-Sliding, map the circular movement length of the cursor to the object’s property value’s change; (3) Curve-Sliding, map the arbitrary curvy motion length of the cursor to the object’s property value’s change. Comparing the three setting modes, we found that Line-Sliding had the faster speed of setting property, while Curve-Sliding is slower. But the error rate of Curve-Sliding is significantly lower, while Line-Sliding is most error-prone. Based on a subjective questionnaire, we found that users preferred to Curve-Sliding and Line-Sliding.To simplify the experimental design, the experimental task only considers one target. Combined with some of the other techniques for fluent operations, the three above mentioned object property setting methods make it possible for a whole interaction task, which includes object selection, command selection and property setting phases, to be fluently performed. The experimental results are valuable for fluent operation UI design.