A Taxonomy of See-Through Tools

Abstract

In current interfaces, users select objects, apply operations, and change viewing parameters in distinct steps that require switching attention among several screen areas. Our See-Through Interface™ software reduces steps by locating tools on a transparent sheet that can be moved over applications with one hand using a trackball, while the other hand controls a mouse cursor. The user clicks through a tool onto application objects, simultaneously selecting an operation and an operand. Tools may include graphical filters that display a customized view of application objects. Compared to traditional interactors, these tools save steps, require no permanent screen space, reduce temporal modes, apply to multiple applications, and facilitate customization. This paper presents a taxonomy of see-through tools that considers variations in each of the steps they perform. As examples, we describe particular see-through tools that perform graphical editing and text editing operations. CR Categories and Subject Descriptors: I.3.6 [Computer Graphics]: Methodology and Techniques—interaction techniques; H.5.2 [Information Interfaces and Presentation): User Interfaces—interaction styles; I.3.3 [Computer Graphics]: Picture/Image Generation—viewing algorithms; 1.3.4 [Computer Graphics]: Graphics Utilities—graphics editors