Problem: Imagine you’re using your app of choice, or you’re sifting through bookmarks folders in your browser of choice, or you’re working your way through the file menu or dock of your OS of choice. You’ve gone one folder in (“Bookmarks”), two folders in (“General Bookmarks”), three folders (“Fun”), four (“Movies”), five (“Comedy”), and you’re just about to click on a link to your favorite funny movie (“Jingle All The Way”)… then your mouse slips, left, down, wherever.
You just lost your filepath. It’s not a big deal, but if you use a computer like I do, you navigate filepaths dozens of times daily — more, if you’re an organization freak.
If I accidentally slide left...
Dang it! Now I have to go back through and find my menu selection again.
Solution: One click locks a step in the filepath, a unit of hierarchy. An icon shows that this step or unit is actually locked, and there is a visual indicator of some sort that it is unlockable at any moment.
Something like this:
The user has just started navigating through the menu...
...and the user desires the menu should stay put while he/she decides which option to select.
So, the user clicks on the open lock icon...
...and the menu is locked at that position. The user may click the closed lock icon to undo this.
And that’s it! Just a simple icon change and some undoubtedly complex coding to make navigating menu paths somewhat easier.
I really feel like there could be a better way of indicating locked and unlocked menus, but the point I’m trying to make here is that for complicated paths, it would be helpful to prevent one’s own slip-ups with the mouse or trackpad by locking a section of the path.
