101 spots, or how do users read menus?
Antti Aaltonen, Aulikki Hyrskykari, Kari‐Jouko Räihä · 1998
In modern graphical user interfaces pull-down menus are one of the most frequently used components. But still after years of research there is no clear evidence on how the users carry out the visual search process in pull-down menus. Several models have been proposed for predicting selection times. However, most observations are based only on execution times and cannot therefore explain where the time is spent. The few models that are based on eye movement research are conflicting. In this study we present an experiment where eye movement data was gathered in a menu usage task. By analyzing the scan paths of the eye, we found that menus are read in sequential sweeps. This may explain why the best models produced by previous research are hybrid models that combine systematic reading behavior with random reading behavior. Keywords Menu selection, visual search process, eye movement, eye tracking INTRODUCTION Pull-down menus (also known as drop-down menus) form one of the key componen...