Unselectable boxes in ccleaner.

[rlittle66]

Does your company plan on allowing the utilization of the unselectable boxes in the curent version of ccleaner? I was very impressed with your product and use it regularly. I also suggest it to freinds that are having issue's with thier system in regards to security and drive space issues.

[marmite]

When I started using ccleaner recently I was fooled by the greyed-out check boxes. The convention used by most software is that this means that the option is not available (which generally also equates to not selectable). Not the case in ccleaner and the boxes I'm thinking of can be selected ... can't see why it's been designed that way!!

 

[Not that you're necessarily referring to the same 'feature' of course]

[ident]

When I started using ccleaner recently I was fooled by the greyed-out check boxes. The convention used by most software is that this means that the option is not available (which generally also equates to not selectable). Not the case in ccleaner and the boxes I'm thinking of can be selected ... can't see why it's been designed that way!!

 

[Not that you're necessarily referring to the same 'feature' of course]

 

Hello, a graye dout label + checkbox has a property of enabled = false,

 

a grayed out label can mean approach with caution. It's a common practive.

[marmite]

Hello, a graye dout label + checkbox has a property of enabled = false

Exactly my point. Normally, if it's disabled you can't check (tick) it!!! On the ccleaner ones you can check them - that's why it's confusing.

 

In terms of the control propreties "enabled" isn't the same as "checked" and "disabled" isn't the same as "unchecked". It is the "checked" property that typically drives the application behaviour.

 

a grayed out label can mean approach with caution. It's a common practice.

It is common practice to disable controls that you don't want to allow users to alter or set values ... back round to "it's confusing"! I look at a greyed out check box and text and read "it's disabled", not "it's unchecked".

 

From memory, this is true for all of the Microsoft IDE's and interfaces I've worked with. Maybe it's just the visual style provided by whatever ccleaner is built with.

[ident]

You can clearly see the chkbox is enabled. Only the label is colored, which is what i said above.

 

 

It's an advanced section. Options that dont 'have' to be run, or should be more experienced knowing what they are. It's a practice used.

 

How else do you suggest go about trying to tone down these options to the newer less experienced users? Have a password that only piriform mods and admins can give to us?

[marmite]

Ah - I see know that you were saying (I think) that "grey box plus text = disabled" but "in ccleaner the check-box isn't greyed out". Your graphic makes that clear.

 

Maybe it's just the visual style of this particular interface - I don't know what ccleaner is built in. To reiterate, the conventions I'm used to (and possibly the OP) are different. When I saw the interface for the first time, my first thought when I saw the greyed out text was "why are those options disabled? I didn't "see" the non-greyed check-box. You might say "look harder". I'm just pointing out that this is my user experience of ccleaner and this is my feedback on the interface.

 

The "caution" argument doesn't hold water for me though. I have never seen greyed out (non-default) text next to any control to imply any sort of warning to a user. Any such warnings, IMHO, should be more explicit in the first place. Moreover, on the first tab, the text for every single option is greyed out until it is checked. Two points there:

1) If they are all "use with caution", there's no value to having them all greyed out in the first place and there should be some other warning.

2) If you check an item, the text is "normal". How do you know if it's a "use with caution" option without unchecking it again to see?

 

The only place that I can see (in my admittedly quick) look through ccleaner where any check-box isn't greyed out by default is in the "Advanced options"!

 

If greyed-out text is meant to flag "caution" then in my opinion i) it doesn't work and ii) it is not the right approach. Going by the first tab, it would be akin to saying "use the whole app with caution"; which in turn devalues its usage.

 

I'm not "arguing" with you ident, nor point-scoring; I'm just trying to understand the whys and wherefores of ccleaner. Neither am I claiming rights and wrongs. In my experience of Windows GUI development this is not a practice I have seen used; perhaps your experience suggests otherwise and I'm not here to disagree with that

[Augeas]

I hate Marmite (you should have called yourself Nutella) but I agree with you, the greyed-out lettering does look as if the option is unavailable. Recuva doesn't have this quirk. But as a long-time user of both I'm used to the quirks and it doesn't bother me, although I can see that it could be confusing.

[fireryone]

I've never noticed the 'grayed out' in ccleaner before but there it is.

 

But I agree with nutella (j/k) and augeas, I have use many windows apps a handfull of gui linux aps, and never seen 'text grayed out' to mean caution, usually it accompanies a grayed out check box, radio button, or button and means its disabled.

I think I've seen italics to infer caution a couple of times but usually there is a * (asterisk) and a description of the warning somewhere below.

 

You may have seen otherwise as seen in your screenshot but I haven't noticed it before.

 

IMO I think CC is showing you the option is 'disabled' in the sense you haven't clicked it (not a usual use) but its their app and I've never noticed it till now so I don't think it is causing too many issues, I mean one click and you know you can use the option (no offense rlittle66).

[marmite]

The only place that I can see (in my admittedly quick) look through ccleaner where any check-box isn't greyed out by default is in the "Advanced options"!

Sorry ... should read check-box text.

 

Yeah Augeas, marmite was a bad choice ... some people ask "is it beacuse people either love you or hate you" ... I say no it's just 'cos I like marmite Back on topic, I also appreciate what you mean about familiarity ... once you've used the app just once or twice you soon pick up on quirks like that; it's just that initial view that throws you (well, me, anyway!).

[fireryone]

Or if you where in Australia you would have named yourself Vegemite

[rlittle66]

Well, I suppose I should have tried selecting them before I asked the question. LOL! You can select them, but I have become so accustomed to windows apps, I don't even try anymore a bad habit to get into. thanx for all the help guy n girls apreciate the help.

[ident]

Ok, my use of the word "caution" was not exactly what i meant but it still brings my point of what it's used for.

 

There is no coding standards for this. But regarding my point, look what it has done by being grey. It's brought your attention to it. which could be a reason for why piriform have done this.

 

The only other instance that i know this method is used is to show that in the default setup, this check is not included.

 

Only piriform can confirm why they have done this. I'd be quite interested in hearing from them why it is.

 

But the fact stands that the checkbox is clearly still enabled regardles of it's text color. My screenshot shows this perfectly.