Closing an Open Tab
Small things can make a big
difference on frequently-performed tasks.
Consider how Internet Explorer
7 supports the task of closing an open tab.
1. Move to the tab I want
to close:
2. Click on tab I want to close (the Close button
becomes viable/active):
3. Move the mouse over to
the Close button and click:
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Compare this to how Firefox
handles the same task.
1. Move mouse over
the Close button and click:
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The tabbed
browsing in Yahoo Mail works the same way.
1. Move mouse over the
Close button and click:
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It may seem like a small detail, but missing opportunities to make frequent tasks more efficient can result in a "death by a thousand paper cuts" effect for a system's user experience.
Update: It is possible to close a tab in IE7 by right-clicking on a tab and selecting "close" from the contextual menu. However, this is less discoverable than simply having a "close" button clearly available on each tab.
