2D drawing system with seamless mode transition

Abstract

Indirect and unintuitive commands like mode-switching are difficult operations for many users. In this paper, we describe a new simple interface for a 2D drawing system to lessen user's confusion. Firstly, we propose a direct manipulation interface based on a set of geometric primitives and their geometric relationships. Secondly, we present a seamless drawing interface that users do not need to switch modes by clicking the toolbar. Through user tests using our prototypes and a standard commercial application, we confirmed that our system can complete certain drawing tasks with shorter completion time and less number of commands. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.