1. Andrew Forsberg, Bob Zeleznik, Tim Miller
Diagrammer
A Pen-Centric User Interface for Diagramming
Andrew Forsberg, Bob Zeleznik, Tim Miller
Overview: Diagram drawing is a generic cross-disciplinary task that is particularly well-suited for pen-based interaction. However, from the perspective of fundamental interactions, diagramming tools are popularly designed to capitalize on the properties of mouse input devices, and thus fail to adequately address pen-based input. For instance, double-clicking, or selecting small widgets are comparably much harder to do with a pen than a mouse. However, simple pen-based interactions such as gesturing a shape or symbol are generally avoided. Beyond basic interaction, we are interested in reducing the gap between generic, rudimentary diagramming tools, such as those found in PowerPoint, and highly specialized tools, such as those found in a Visio tool palette. User-created primitives (akin to keyboard macros) may help.
Initial goal: Finding a small set of gestures and primitives that let most users quickly create most of their diagrams. Templates and expanded primitive sets could be used to satisfy harder diagramming problems.
Barriers: Understanding the scope of diagramming; cleaning-up “raw” pen strokes of skilled drawers; classifying pen strokes and gracefully handling errors; interpreting pen strokes (as gestures or by parsing, and finding a balance between the two preferred by users); understanding when and how to “morph” user strokes (e.g., “prettifying” strokes); satisfying layout constraints; capturing aesthetics (line thicknesses, color, etc.).
Examples: Below is a gallery of samples representing a variety of challenges for a diagramming tool, for example, creating a cleaned-up diagram or dimensioning a diagram.
Figure 1: Even a relatively simple diagram like this (from M. Rubin’s Droidmaker) is time-consuming to create with computer tools.
Figure 4: Strokes in a dimensioned diagram may be difficult to parse & need morphing or other transformations to be clear.
Figure 3: A diagram from a SIGGRAPH 2006 paper presents challenges including multiple primitives, nested elements, text labels, and a space constraint. (from <fill in ref., get better clipping of diagram>)
Figure 2: A physics diagram. How should these strokes be interpreted?
Figure 5: Some diagrams need to evolve from concept to presentation quality and/or are animated such as in MS PowerPoint slides.