Toolglass and magic lenses
Eric A. Bier, Maureen Stone, Ken Pier, William A. S. Buxton, Tony DeRose · 1993
Toolglass™ widgets are new user interface tools that can appear, as though on a transparent sheet of glass, between an application and a traditional cursor.They can be positioned with one hand while the other positions the cursor.The widgets provide a rich and concise vocabulary for operating on application objects.These widgets may incorporate visual filters, called Magic Lens™ filters, that modify the presentation of application objects to reveal hidden information, to enhance data of interest, or to suppress distracting information.Together, these tools form a see-through interface that offers many advantages over traditional controls.They provide a new style of interaction that better exploits the user's everyday skills.They can reduce steps, cursor motion, and errors.Many widgets can be provided in a user interface, by designers and by users, without requiring dedicated screen space.In addition, lenses provide rich context-dependent feedback and the ability to view details and context simultaneously.Our widgets and lenses can be combined to form operation and viewing macros, and can be used over multiple applications.