Sprints/UX2011/KMessageWidget

Three kinds of uses:

1. Positive or negative feedback

2. Opportunistic interaction (example: Firefox "remember password" bar)

3. Find/replace panels

Negative feedback

The MessageWidget should be used as a second indicator of failure: the first indicator is that the action the user expected to happen did not happen.

Example: User just filled a form, clicks "Submit". - Expected feedback: form closes - First indicator of failure: form stays there - Second indicator of failure: a MessageWidget appears on top of the form

Placement of the MessageWidget

MessageWidget should be placed closed to its context. In the case of a form, it should appear on top of the form entries.

MessageWidget should get inserted in the existing layout. Space should not be reserved for it, otherwise it becomes "dead space", ignored by the user. MessageWidget should not appear as an overlay to prevent blocking access to elements the user needs to interact with to fix the failure.

Positive feedback

Should be used sparingly: only to confirm success of high-risk transactions or completion of background tasks.