Snap-in Start Pages
When users select the root node of a snap-in, the start page is displayed in the results pane. The start page is a great way to highlight essential activities and to provide summary views as well as to include links to information that helps the user get oriented with a feature. The activity-based start page highlights the functionality in a way that is more appropriate for novice and occasional users.
Actions Pane
When you design your start page, assume that the MMC console will have the Actions pane on by default. This means that there is less horizontal room for the start page. See the Console Sizing topic for the default sizes of the results pane.
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Figure 1 Sample start page.
Organizing Your Start Page
When you begin to conceptualize your start page design, you should identify the activities you want to present and then organize them into logical groupings.
Follow the steps below to organize your start page into the appropriate categories.
- Divide the actions for each of the lowest level activities into those that require objects to first be selected and those that do not. Put the links on the start page for the actions that do not require objects. These actions can be launched directly from the start page. Group all the other actions into a single link called “Manage <object name>.” This link will take users to the container node where those objects can be managed.
- Activity sections should contain a short description of the activity and links. They should be laid out as shown in Figure 2.
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Figure 2 A start page showing how activities should be laid out.
Links
There are three types of links permitted on the start page: links for actions that do not require that the user first select an object, links to an object container in which objects of a particular type can be managed, and resource links.
Figure 3 Different types of links.
- The entire link should operate as a single UI control so that clicking the text causes the same behavior as clicking the graphic.
- The text in the link should show an underline on rollover and on mouse down.
- Lay out the links in three columns.
- Links should be preceded by an icon. See the Icons section below to determine which icon should precede which link.
Links to Actions
When an activity does not require that an object be selected first, use a link that consists of the standard command verb followed by the object. Links for these types of actions should launch a wizard or a dialog box in which the action can be completed.
Links to Object Containers
Most actions require that an object first be selected from the list view. These actions should be referenced as an object-type group from the start page, because usually there isn't enough space on the start page to list all the actions available.
- Add a Manage <object> link to the start page. This link will give users access to all available actions.
These types of links navigate the user to the object container in which objects for completing an activity are located. For example, an activity titled “Working with services” might have a link labeled “Manage services” which would navigate the user to the Services list view. Clicking an object container link should cause the same behavior that occurs when the object container is selected.
Resource Links
On the start page, resource links open white papers, Help, and other instructional materials off the box. The link can open a high-level Web page resource or open the actual document to which you are referring.
- Resource links launch the resource in a secondary window.
- Organize the links in order of importance, with the most important at the top.
- Put related links together.
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Figure 4 Diagram showing some typical links layouts across three columns.
Icons
The following table shows the standardized start page icons.
| Icon | Usage |
|---|---|
Resource |
|
Action |
|
Link to object container |
|
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Expanded Use character “5” for pane expanded Font = Marlett (system font) Color = System.ControlText |
.bmp) |
Collapsed Use character “6” for pane collapsed Font = Marlett (system font) Color = System.ControlText |
Extension Start Pages
Every snap-in root node has a start page. A console that contains several extension snap-ins can have several start pages. Each of these start pages must be defined by the author of the respective extension snap-in.
Extension start pages should contain the activities that refer to the snap-ins in the console. These activities should be written as executive summaries for the snap-in. Users will be able to navigate to the snap-in extension itself to see the full snap-in extension start page. For example, the Event Viewer start page is the same page whether Event Viewer is a standalone snap-in or is loaded as part of the Computer Management snap-in. The Computer Management snap-in start page would then have an activity section that is related to the Event Viewer. The activity section would have links to Event Viewer as well as some summary information and a few important Event Viewer actions.