|
For me center align gives the best look and feel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I dont see the crossfires 
For me a checkbox columns looks better in center alignment. But I think that is a very personal taste thing.
|
|
|
|
|
Crap I need some coffee. I agree with that in regards to check-boxes, just not plain text. I might nuke my post.
Jeremy Falcon
|
|
|
|
|
Don't worry 
|
|
|
|
|
Make sure you reach orbit first!
|
|
|
|
|
Judging on some of the questions I've seen in QA recently, you should have multiple headers and align all the checkboxes in the first column.
|
|
|
|
|
I the entries have more or less the same length, I would go for centering.
If one cell can have one letter and the other a long word... I would go for left
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
|
|
|
|
|
My vote is for centering. I'd also abbreviate the day names. The problem I've seen with left align is mostly when the column to the left is numeric (right-aligned) and there's not enough visual separation. I also prefer centered with very short (yes/no, on/off) text values.
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
"Hope is contagious"
|
|
|
|
|
If you follow this style guide insofar as the alignment goes you'll be ok...
Table and Data Grid Guidelines
Just don't forget to do the opposite for RTL languages for cells that aren't form controls.
Jeremy Falcon
|
|
|
|
|
damn, a guideline !!
I'm doomed!!
Thanks.
CI/CD = Continuous Impediment/Continuous Despair
|
|
|
|
|
Don't sweat it. Guidelines are just someone else's opinion.
"They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"
|
|
|
|
|
Yes, but the opinion of a UX expert writing said guidelines should at least hold some weight say against that of a gardener or a meth dealer. 
Jeremy Falcon
|
|
|
|
|
Quote: should at least hold some weight say against that of a gardener or a meth dealer
I will just keep my opinions to myself then
Within you lies the power for good - Use it!
|
|
|
|
|
I give them no more weight than that gardener. I used to ask our cleaning lady for UI suggestions and got some great ones from her. We had to deal with a lot of non-computer savvy operators and she was the perfect person to ask since everyone else around was experienced. This so-called expert probably just read a few books and there is a high probability that I (and you) have more experience dealing with actual UIs than they do.
"They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"
|
|
|
|
|
That's an assumption...
Devs deal with UI on a technical level, but most devs I know don't even know jack about CSS, for instance. They lie and pretend to, but they don't know anything about it. It's all ego and arrogance and fear and more of the nonsensical lies that fills our industry when a typical dev says they know it, but then they can't tell you the difference between pixel value and point value. A good dev should be able to with with UX about new toys available, but that doesn't make the devs an expert of all things UX (not the same as UI).
I consider myself pretty good at UX theory (not the best at all) and I know for a fact I've talked to more non-devs/users about the experience. And a good UX person will; a bad one won't. Most good UX peeps or marketing peeps I know love to chat about ideas and they speak to users way more than a dev with zero social skills. It's always a dev that argues about everything petty little thing (like this). Which I would argue makes devs much less qualified to find out what people really want.
But, that goes for any role... like the aforementioned devs. And while you can consider a gardener an end user, the chance he/she talks to a larger sample size about an application is all but zero. Which means, it's statically invalid in and of itself. But someone who has a much larger sample size at least has a better chance of getting it "right". As in, you should talk to a gardener as an end user and get their feedback, but you don't see that gardener going around talking to other end users as much as you would see that with someone who's job it is.
Again, they have to be good at their job, but that goes for any role. Plenty of devs out there suck too and lack the self-awareness to see that.
Jeremy Falcon
modified 1hr 20mins ago.
|
|
|
|
|
Make it user configurable. Make sure you support right-to-left languages. 
Or, as my French teacher told me, if you don't know which way the accent mark goes, just draw a horizontal line and the testers can't ding you. AKA: center-aligned.
|
|
|
|
|
Every friggin' thing is configurable in our software.
This is one of the rare UI that will not be configurable
CI/CD = Continuous Impediment/Continuous Despair
|
|
|
|
|
Maximilien wrote: This is one of the rare UI that will not be configurable
Don't forget the read only checkbox they can't uncheck that says make this not configurable.
Jeremy Falcon
|
|
|
|
|
Maximilien wrote: rare UI that will not be configurable
.....until the afternoon before the scheduled release date.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
|
|
|
|
|
Then make sure to make the number of weekday columns configurable, for when we (finally) narrow down the week to 3 days (yes, I do remember the 1970s); but allow for up to 10 days, for when we decimalise the calendar.
|
|
|
|
|
that right there. leave it up to the user, but default to centering.
Better yet, add some data collection to see what users actually like. I've been a long proponent for this, as I think the vast majority of features are rarely used. I'm thinking Word, Excel, most of the Windows desktop, applications and systems I've written, etc.
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
|
|
|
|
|
Center of course for the obvious logical reason previously stated.
Also :
Vertical line separators.
Each column in alternating colors.
Upon hover icons fly around depending on column. to wit exempli gratia:
Monday flying piggies
Tuesday flying kittens
Wednesday flying puppies
Thursday flying butterflies
Friday flying froggies
Of course the library of flying icons should be user extensible.
Distinct perhaps random fonts is user optional.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 +5 for mentioning this! I used to look forward to the weekly surveys. 
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
"Hope is contagious"
|
|
|
|
General 
News 
Suggestion 
Question 
Bug 
Answer 
Joke 
Praise 
Rant 
Admin 
Submit an article or tip
