Classic Shell: Forum

Navigating to sub-menus can be frustrating :


One solution is to add a delay to give enough time to the user to move the cursor to the sub-menu before closing it.

But the resulting "laggy" effect can also be frustrating.

A better solution is to implement something called directional menu aiming :


This is done by detecting whether the cursor is moving near vertically (between menu items) or in a triangular zone (toward a sub-menu) :


This technique is used for example on Amazon's main left menu: http://www.amazon.com/

Please check this link for a very nice explanation: http://bjk5.com/post/44698559168/breaki ... a-dropdown

The first solution, delay is already present since the beginning of Classic Start Menu. Adjust "Menu Delay" in milliseconds on the Basic Settings tab, or if you are viewing All Settings, it's on the "General Behavior" tab.

Directional menu aiming looks very interesting. Btw, what is laggy about a higher delay? When delay is increased to very high value, it is understood that you must click to expand the menu, not hover. It becomes a different style of navigating the menu where clicking is necessary.

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Links to some general topics:

● Compare Start Menus

● Read the Search box usage guide.

I am a Windows enthusiast and helped a little with Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.

It is true that adding 250ms of delay is usually enough to avoid unwanted switching between menu items while trying to reach a sub-menu (as long as you move the cursor relatively quickly). But even 250ms can still feel a bit unresponsive. During that time, you cannot see the sub-items and find the one you would like to click on. And if that sub-item you are looking for is finally not found in the sub-menu that you just deployed, you will then have to move back and wait for 250ms again to see another sub-menu. This can add up quickly and to me it makes the UI experience feel 'laggy' (as in 'not instantaneous').

It is also true that you can put a much higher value for the delay (say 2000ms), therefore nearly disabling the hovering action. You would then uses clicking instead to deploy sub-menus. The reaction to the user input (clicking) is then instantaneous. But it also means that you need to click all the time to navigate around the sub-menus and that may not be to everyone's liking.

What *cannot* be currently achieved is something with an instantaneous response upon simple hovering (delay:0ms) *and* no misfires while moving the cursor to a sub-menu even if this cursor passes briefly over another main menu item.

I have this same gripe

i think one potential solution to this problem would be to allow us to set the delay on a per-folder basis

My folder "Program Launcher" which contains links to every program on my computer in a multi-column fly-out, i want to pop up immediately, without delay

but setting a general option for all folders to have no delay, means that i cant move my mouse anywhere else on the start menu without menus flying out all over the place..

it suck really.. every time i want to launch a program, i have to wait that same laggy delay.. because lag is what if feels like when all you want to do is launch a program..

but I need that lag delay when moving through other parts of my start menu, such as the left column

i'd be happy with simply being able to adjust the time delay separately for the entire left column, and the entire right column, independently