Click This!: A Study on Optimizing Toolbar Placement in Computer Graphical User Interfaces
Daniel Hor, Igor Dolgov, Jeremy Schwark, William J. Graves · Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting · 2010
Toolbars in computer graphical user interfaces are usually placed at the top of the program window. Yet our study showed that people typically responded fastest when toolbars are placed on the left or right side, despite the four sides being of equal distance from the center of the screen. Furthermore, responses were slowest when toolbars were placed at the bottom. We also found that participants performed significantly slower when presented with multiple toolbars and when toolbar position was unpredictable.