Should your software speak
3
Thinking about navigation and interaction
Navigation allows the user to move around the content that you have provided. Your user will navigate by clicking on small areas of the screen usually called buttons. The appearance of these buttons is very important. If users cannot recognise them easily they will not be able to use the presentation.
The simplest button is an arrow that points to the right and when 'clicked' causes the presentation to move to the next screen in the pre-programmed sequence. Clicking an arrow that points to the left causes the presentation to move to the previous screen in the pre-programmed sequence.
If your presentation is in sections then you may need to use buttons that cause the presentation to jump to particular sections. These buttons can be simple rectangles enclosing words describing the contents of the section or they can be simple icons that represent these words visually.
Navigation provides the major means for the user to interact with the presentation but you can also include features that enable users to interact more fully with individual screens. Usually these are indicated by simple icons and it is important that they are not confused with navigation buttons. For example, a loudspeaker icon when clicked will cause a sound or voice sequence to play. In some presentations images act as 'roll over' buttons. When the cursor is placed on the image it is transformed into a small hand indicating that the image is live button. This is used to add an element of uncertainty to using the presentation.