A tool-based interactive drawing environment

Graphical user interfaces rely heavily on the tool metaphor. In most drawing systems, for example, functions are organized as they might be on a workbench; buttons associated with drawing modes for lines or rectangles are called linedrawing or rectangle-drawing tools; etc. Despite the similarities, however, there remain many differences between software tools and physical tools. This paper gives a concise account of tool use in general, and describes a drawing application, called HabilisDraw, that relies on a detailed correspondence to physical tool behavior. KEYWORDS Metaphors, tool use, interface design

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2002
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Robert St. Amant, Thomas E. Horton
• Keywords: CHI 2002, Graphical User Interfaces, Human Computer Interaction, Physical Tool Behavior, Tool Metaphor