The Usability of Transparent Overview Layers

Viewports into large visual workspaces are sometimes supplemented by a separate window that displays a miniaturized overview of the entire workspace. Instead of this separate window, we have layered a transparent version of the overview atop the viewport. Because the overview fills the display, it becomes the largest size possible. An exploratory study indicates that people can use this unusual system, where they switch between layers when performing a construction task. Keywords: Transparent interfaces, overviews, groupware. INTRODUCTION Many computer applications provide users with a viewport into a large visual workspace through which they view and manipulate full-sized workspace artifacts. Miniaturized overviews (aka radar views) of the entire workspace are sometimes provided as well [2]. These overviews provide users with global context, which includes the spatial relations between objects, how changes affect objects outside the viewport, and a view rectangle that situates thei..