Colorblindness

[Paul Albright]

The color scheme in Office 2007 creates an unusual but frustrating problem

for me. I can't tell which application, window or dialog box is active

anymore. The active window is not easily distinguishable from others. I have

closed the wrong window many times and often enough been extremely aggravated

when I discover the "Save changes?" prompt was because I was closing the

wrong window. Imagine my anger when I realize later that I didn't want to

say, "No I don't want those changes." and should have been answering, "Cancel

that, I got the wrong window, AGAIN."



The problem promises to get worse with Microsoft Windows 7.



Does anyone have some idea what I can do? Or has Microsoft ignored this

disadvantage that 7% of American males suffer with. Without considering the

..4 percent of females that is 3.5% of the population. This seems like a

significant oversight for a substantial user interface designer (Microsoft

Windows, Microsoft Office, etc). Aren't there standards concerning usability?

 

[James Silverton]

Paul wrote on Tue, 2 Mar 2010 12:46:01 -0800:



> The problem promises to get worse with Microsoft Windows 7.



>Does anyone have some idea what I can do? Or has Microsoft ignored this

>disadvantage that 7% of American males suffer with



I think it's a valid request to make the shapes of the icons more

distinctive. I suppose you mean red-green colo rblindness but there's

also blue-yellow Daltonism.



--



James Silverton

Potomac, Maryland



Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

 

[Zaidy036]

In article ,

PaulAlbright@discussions.microsoft.com says...

>

> The color scheme in Office 2007 creates an unusual but frustrating problem

> for me. I can't tell which application, window or dialog box is active

> anymore. The active window is not easily distinguishable from others. I have

> closed the wrong window many times and often enough been extremely aggravated

> when I discover the "Save changes?" prompt was because I was closing the

> wrong window. Imagine my anger when I realize later that I didn't want to

> say, "No I don't want those changes." and should have been answering, "Cancel

> that, I got the wrong window, AGAIN."

>

> The problem promises to get worse with Microsoft Windows 7.

>

> Does anyone have some idea what I can do? Or has Microsoft ignored this

> disadvantage that 7% of American males suffer with. Without considering the

> .4 percent of females that is 3.5% of the population. This seems like a

> significant oversight for a substantial user interface designer (Microsoft

> Windows, Microsoft Office, etc). Aren't there standards concerning usability?



One of the available tab add-ins for office might help.



I have been trying OfficeTabv on 64 bit Win 7. It has a lot of flexibility.



Available from http://lifehacker.com/5345338/officetab-adds-tabs-to-microsoft-

office

 

[DL]

It would seem from your post that you assume MS designs only with the US

market in mind, theres a whole wide world out there



"Paul Albright" wrote in message

news:779E3B59-1474-467F-A1FF-6D8D4FA7B123@microsoft.com...

> The color scheme in Office 2007 creates an unusual but frustrating problem

> for me. I can't tell which application, window or dialog box is active

> anymore. The active window is not easily distinguishable from others. I

> have

> closed the wrong window many times and often enough been extremely

> aggravated

> when I discover the "Save changes?" prompt was because I was closing the

> wrong window. Imagine my anger when I realize later that I didn't want to

> say, "No I don't want those changes." and should have been answering,

> "Cancel

> that, I got the wrong window, AGAIN."

>

> The problem promises to get worse with Microsoft Windows 7.

>

> Does anyone have some idea what I can do? Or has Microsoft ignored this

> disadvantage that 7% of American males suffer with. Without considering

> the

> .4 percent of females that is 3.5% of the population. This seems like a

> significant oversight for a substantial user interface designer (Microsoft

> Windows, Microsoft Office, etc). Aren't there standards concerning

> usability?

>

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Have you looked at any of the accessibility features of Windows? I don't

know if they would suffice, but there are many display options that can be

manipulated for people with visual (--sorry--) "impairments".



I don't have Windows 7 installed at present, but in Vista they can be found

under "Ease of Access" (Start | Programs | Accessories | Ease of Access).



--

Susan Ramlet

**please reply to the newsgroup so others may benefit**





"Paul Albright" wrote in message

news:779E3B59-1474-467F-A1FF-6D8D4FA7B123@microsoft.com...

> The color scheme in Office 2007 creates an unusual but frustrating problem

> for me. I can't tell which application, window or dialog box is active

> anymore. The active window is not easily distinguishable from others. I

> have

> closed the wrong window many times and often enough been extremely

> aggravated

> when I discover the "Save changes?" prompt was because I was closing the

> wrong window. Imagine my anger when I realize later that I didn't want to

> say, "No I don't want those changes." and should have been answering,

> "Cancel

> that, I got the wrong window, AGAIN."

>

> The problem promises to get worse with Microsoft Windows 7.

>

> Does anyone have some idea what I can do? Or has Microsoft ignored this

> disadvantage that 7% of American males suffer with. Without considering

> the

> .4 percent of females that is 3.5% of the population. This seems like a

> significant oversight for a substantial user interface designer (Microsoft

> Windows, Microsoft Office, etc). Aren't there standards concerning

> usability?

>

 

[LVTravel]

"Susan Ramlet" wrote in message

newsE6374E6-3F91-4443-9C4E-50AD4E572718@microsoft.com...

> Have you looked at any of the accessibility features of Windows? I don't

> know if they would suffice, but there are many display options that can be

> manipulated for people with visual (--sorry--) "impairments".

>

> I don't have Windows 7 installed at present, but in Vista they can be

> found under "Ease of Access" (Start | Programs | Accessories | Ease of

> Access).

>

> --

> Susan Ramlet

> **please reply to the newsgroup so others may benefit**

>

>

> "Paul Albright" wrote in message

> news:779E3B59-1474-467F-A1FF-6D8D4FA7B123@microsoft.com...

>> The color scheme in Office 2007 creates an unusual but frustrating

>> problem

>> for me. I can't tell which application, window or dialog box is active

>> anymore. The active window is not easily distinguishable from others. I

>> have

>> closed the wrong window many times and often enough been extremely

>> aggravated

>> when I discover the "Save changes?" prompt was because I was closing the

>> wrong window. Imagine my anger when I realize later that I didn't want to

>> say, "No I don't want those changes." and should have been answering,

>> "Cancel

>> that, I got the wrong window, AGAIN."

>>

>> The problem promises to get worse with Microsoft Windows 7.

>>

>> Does anyone have some idea what I can do? Or has Microsoft ignored this

>> disadvantage that 7% of American males suffer with. Without considering

>> the

>> .4 percent of females that is 3.5% of the population. This seems like a

>> significant oversight for a substantial user interface designer

>> (Microsoft

>> Windows, Microsoft Office, etc). Aren't there standards concerning

>> usability?

>>

>



The OP does have a valid point about being color blind to certain colors.

With the few choices of color pallets available with Office '07 and also '10

and Vista and Win 7 even I with out having a color vision problem do not

always see what I need to see on a screen because of the lack of contrast.

The high contrast setting of Vista is absolutely unusable (white on black

just doesn't cut it.)



With XP and earlier versions (and to a certain extent with Vista and I

believe 7) you can change the colors of most of the desktop items.



What you can't really change is the Office colors to a slightly higher

contrast color. You have three color combinations with '07 and three with

'10 (Blue, Silver and Black. ) None are really good contrast with the

lettering on the ribbon bar. I think '10 is slightly better than '07.



One of my original pet peeves with Office '97 to '03 versions was the gray

border in Word in page layout view where the cursor would "get lost" unless

you changed the default cursor to something else. Simple things like that

should not happen with any decent programming skills. It only took

Microsoft 10 years to get rid of that simple glitch.

 

[ybS2okj]

"Paul Albright" wrote in message

news:779E3B59-1474-467F-A1FF-6D8D4FA7B123@microsoft.com...



> Does anyone have some idea what I can do? Or has Microsoft ignored this

> disadvantage that 7% of American males suffer with. Without considering

> the

> .4 percent of females that is 3.5% of the population. This seems like a

> significant oversight for a substantial user interface designer (Microsoft

> Windows, Microsoft Office, etc). Aren't there standards concerning

> usability?

>



No M$ hasn't ignored the disadvantage of 7% of American males. This matter

is under constant review but there isn't any feasible solution yet. The

only solution people like you have come out with is to work with your

partner/spouse and sort it out that way. Susie hasn't got a clue either

despite her hanging out here whole day long!



Have you thought of looking for medical solution? Under Obama you may be

eligible for free treatment!



hth

 

[ybS2okj]

"DL" wrote in message

news:uW8gyWluKHA.2436@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> It would seem from your post that you assume MS designs only with the US

> market in mind, theres a whole wide world out there

>



So what is your point? You are jobless drug junkie so you can't have any

contribution to make to resolve this.



hth

 

[sandypeter111]

ybS2okj;3661898 Wrote:

> "DL" notvalid@spoofaddress.co.uk wrote in message

> news:uW8gyWluKHA.2436@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...-

> It would seem from your post that you assume MS designs only with the

> US

> market in mind, theres a whole wide world out there

> -

>

> So what is your point? You are jobless drug junkie so you can't have

> any

> contribution to make to resolve this.

>

> hth



how come it can be said like this?









--

sandypeter111

 

[Bob I]

sandypeter111 wrote:



> ybS2okj;3661898 Wrote:

>

>>"DL" notvalid@spoofaddress.co.uk wrote in message

>>news:uW8gyWluKHA.2436@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...-

>>It would seem from your post that you assume MS designs only with the

>>US

>>market in mind, theres a whole wide world out there

>>-

>>

>>So what is your point? You are jobless drug junkie so you can't have

>>any

>>contribution to make to resolve this.

>>

>>hth

>

>

> how come it can be said like this?

>



Please ignore the rude anonymous poster.

 

[Paul Albright]

It is responses like those of ybS2okj that make newsgroups like this

only half as valuable as they could be.



Half because of the need to wade through useless ramblings offered by

those who either don't understand the issue posted or don't have

anything of value to say and are here because no one will give them the

time of day to spew their dribble elsewhere. This clearly demonstrates

that they know absolutely nothing of value about anything that isn't

within their own shallow self-centered self-absorbed existence.



I appreciate the rest of the responses and will investigate them, again

in some cases. What I have seen written or described about accessibility

features is centered on the ability to see this color versus that color.

I was interested to see that in some cases it seems you can actually

change the system RGB value. Like saying from now on show purple where

it is supposed to be blue.



I apologize if some readers felt slighted when I used US population

statistics. That was not an oversight so much as a convenience. The

easiest statistics to Google came from the CDC.



I would like to clarify what my particular problem is. As LVTravel

mentions, the difficulty stems from the lack of contrast or gradient in

the color of the active window, not the actual color itself. Regardless

which color scheme is chosen the problem is the same. Incidentally, I am

green-brown colorblind.



Perhaps my real aggravation is that this has never been a problem and

Microsoft's decision to lock down color options makes the interface look

more and more like the original Apple/Mac interface, lifeless and drab,

intuitive but ugly.



Thank you again.

 

[Susan Ramlet]

Thanks for this--



I don't think you can adjust individual colors in the manner you

suggest--only by changing individual elements in the display theme, which

isn't as you describe. But it's a very interesting idea, IMO. I think the

Accessibility features in Windows are more for those who require high

contrast to distinguish screen elements. You would likely lose some of the

display elegance that you might currently enjoy, but it might be worth a

look if it makes the system usable for you.



--

Susan Ramlet

**please reply to the newsgroup so others may benefit**





"Paul Albright" wrote in message

newsaul.Albright.47a8hl@no.email.invalid...

>

> It is responses like those of ybS2okj that make newsgroups like this

> only half as valuable as they could be.

>

> Half because of the need to wade through useless ramblings offered by

> those who either don't understand the issue posted or don't have

> anything of value to say and are here because no one will give them the

> time of day to spew their dribble elsewhere. This clearly demonstrates

> that they know absolutely nothing of value about anything that isn't

> within their own shallow self-centered self-absorbed existence.

>

> I appreciate the rest of the responses and will investigate them, again

> in some cases. What I have seen written or described about accessibility

> features is centered on the ability to see this color versus that color.

> I was interested to see that in some cases it seems you can actually

> change the system RGB value. Like saying from now on show purple where

> it is supposed to be blue.

>

> I apologize if some readers felt slighted when I used US population

> statistics. That was not an oversight so much as a convenience. The

> easiest statistics to Google came from the CDC.

>

> I would like to clarify what my particular problem is. As LVTravel

> mentions, the difficulty stems from the lack of contrast or gradient in

> the color of the active window, not the actual color itself. Regardless

> which color scheme is chosen the problem is the same. Incidentally, I am

> green-brown colorblind.

>

> Perhaps my real aggravation is that this has never been a problem and

> Microsoft's decision to lock down color options makes the interface look

> more and more like the original Apple/Mac interface, lifeless and drab,

> intuitive but ugly.

>

> Thank you again.

>

>

 

[LVTravel]

"Paul Albright" wrote in message

newsaul.Albright.47a8hl@no.email.invalid...

>

> It is responses like those of ybS2okj that make newsgroups like this

> only half as valuable as they could be.

>

> Half because of the need to wade through useless ramblings offered by

> those who either don't understand the issue posted or don't have

> anything of value to say and are here because no one will give them the

> time of day to spew their dribble elsewhere. This clearly demonstrates

> that they know absolutely nothing of value about anything that isn't

> within their own shallow self-centered self-absorbed existence.

>

> I appreciate the rest of the responses and will investigate them, again

> in some cases. What I have seen written or described about accessibility

> features is centered on the ability to see this color versus that color.

> I was interested to see that in some cases it seems you can actually

> change the system RGB value. Like saying from now on show purple where

> it is supposed to be blue.

>

> I apologize if some readers felt slighted when I used US population

> statistics. That was not an oversight so much as a convenience. The

> easiest statistics to Google came from the CDC.

>

> I would like to clarify what my particular problem is. As LVTravel

> mentions, the difficulty stems from the lack of contrast or gradient in

> the color of the active window, not the actual color itself. Regardless

> which color scheme is chosen the problem is the same. Incidentally, I am

> green-brown colorblind.

>

> Perhaps my real aggravation is that this has never been a problem and

> Microsoft's decision to lock down color options makes the interface look

> more and more like the original Apple/Mac interface, lifeless and drab,

> intuitive but ugly.

>

> Thank you again.

>

>



ybS2okj is a person who is leaching off of (stealing) computer system time

in the UK and has posted under numerous names such as Anonymous and 201002xx

where the number xx was changed to the current posting date. Depending on

where the person can steal computer time that is where the person is posting

from. One college location is currently looking for the person in question

to have it charged with theft.



Once in a while ybS2okj actually does post correct information and possibly

could be a valuable asset to this and other newsgroups but only if the

sarcasm and other incorrect comments would be withheld. With the immaturity

of some of the comments the valuable information provided is lost.