[ka-Map-users] User Interaction to select features

[Jason Suwala]

Hi All ka-Mapers:

I am currently trying to brain-storm various user interaction methods for
selecting features on a web-based map. With all this discussion about
putting markers on a map, I thought I would ask the list if they had any
further thoughts on this.

>From what I've seen so far, there are 2 main methods for selecting features
on a web-based map:
1) putting a discreet "balloon" above the point (like Google Maps)
2) choosing a "feature select tool" from a tool palette which shows a
rubber-band encompassing the region to query for features.

>From a user interaction viewpoint, method 1 is simpler because the actions
are discreet - mouse click to query, mouse drag to pan. For method 2,
selecting a tool is necessary because the mouse drag action is used for both
querying and panning. So I would state that the first method is more usable
by non-technical users, however, it is constrained by only allowing
individual discreet points to be queried. The second method is harder to
use, but can query any range of features.

So my question is: do you know of any other user interactions that are easy
for non-technical users to use, and can query any range of features?


Cheers,
- Jason