UI Concept
Dev tools
ui focus animation
SHOW HN2013
388points
72comments
#17of 1,739 in 2013
Top 1%of 2013 by points
How HN took it
DebatedReal support and real criticism
16 positive, 9 neutral or asking, 6 mixed, 13 critical, out of 44 comments about the project. Thread score +0.05.
Idea: 7 for, 4 againstDesign: 5 for, 6 againstExecution: 3 for, 0 againstDocs: 0 for, 2 againstPerformance: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Clean, neat solution that adds useful visual feedback
From 3 comments
I was expecting some messy JavaScript. This is nice an clean solution.
batiste on HNThis is one of those neat little things that make a big difference in how a program is used and perceived. Very nice work.
bliti on HNLike this ! I think this is so simple and neat :)
nXqd on HN
Helpful for keyboard users
From 3 comments
Really like this when using the keyboard. When using the mouse, the transition is implied so it's annoying. Great work though!
harrytuttle on HNThis is a really great idea. It drives me nuts how pressing tab (or even more commonly, shift-tab) can sometimes lead to focus being "lost". And not in the usual sense…
mistercow on HNWorks for me - Ubuntu 13.04, Chromium 28, Firefox 24. It looks way better in Chromium, since it's got the correct focus color and the animation looks more smooth. Firefox is way…
yesbabyyes on HN
Objections
Animation is distracting when using the mouse
From 3 comments
Great idea. Possible improvement: Only show the effect if the user uses the tab key. IMHO the effect is distracting if you use the mouse and are already looking at the focused…
noptic on HNReally like this when using the keyboard. When using the mouse, the transition is implied so it's annoying. Great work though!
harrytuttle on HNFeels off if you _dont_ use keys. But I guess thats not the point.
antidaily on HN
Transition is too fast or subtle to follow
From 2 comments
OpenLaszlo has had this for years. It's a great idea that works well, but it's not original. The OpenLaszlo implementation animates four shadowed corner chevrons that interpolate…
SimHacker on HNInteresting but I think it's a bit too subtle or quick.
agumonkey on HN
Not original; OpenLaszlo and other products had similar effects
From 3 comments
OpenLaszlo has had this for years. It's a great idea that works well, but it's not original. The OpenLaszlo implementation animates four shadowed corner chevrons that interpolate…
SimHacker on HNThis reminds me of the moving brackets between form elements in OpenLaszlo—anyone remember that from circa 2008? (Can't find a live demo, but looks like this:…
markbao on HNThe Opera browser has had this capability for years.
aagha on HN
Requests
Only animate when the keyboard is used
From 2 comments
Great idea. Possible improvement: Only show the effect if the user uses the tab key. IMHO the effect is distracting if you use the mouse and are already looking at the focused…
noptic on HNYes, I’m thinking of a way to turn it on only when the keyboard is used.
NVI on HN
Support for OS-native focus colors
From 2 comments
Such a simple idea - but it does make it easier to follow. The only problem I have is that it's very mac-centric. On my system the focus color is orange and it looks a bit off.…
Skalman on HNUnfortunately, this will make colors look off on OS X. "highlight" color is different from the focus color on OS X. Hardcoding colors for different OS-s might be more reliable.
NVI on HN
Add to Chromium and Firefox
From 1 comment
Could someone with the appropriate clout contribute this to chromium and Firefox? It seems like in a perfect open source world, a change like this should be simple to at least…
hayksaakian on HN
Questions
Why it doesn't work in some browsers or Ubuntu
From 2 comments
This is a really great idea. It drives me nuts how pressing tab (or even more commonly, shift-tab) can sometimes lead to focus being "lost". And not in the usual sense…
mistercow on HNLooking good. But, demo doesn't work in Chrome 30.0.1599.47 beta-m
johnx123-up on HN
Alternatives named
OpenLaszlo form field bracket animation
From 2 comments
OpenLaszlo has had this for years. It's a great idea that works well, but it's not original. The OpenLaszlo implementation animates four shadowed corner chevrons that interpolate…
SimHacker on HNThis reminds me of the moving brackets between form elements in OpenLaszlo—anyone remember that from circa 2008? (Can't find a live demo, but looks like this:…
markbao on HN
Reanimator RegExp tester tab animation
From 1 comment
A couple of years ago I saw http://osteele.com/tools/reanimator/, OpenLaszlo based RegExp tester. The animation on tabbing between text fields was unusual and interesting. I…
NVI on HN
Excel web cell focus sliding
From 1 comment
I have seen this (well, something very similar) done before: newer versions of MS Excel (or at least the web based version) slide the cell focus indicator around instead of just…
dspillett on HN