Fixed UI

A fixed UI is any kind of UI that is always visible to the user. The canonical example for this is the application menu, and the toolbar.

Google Docs Toolbar:

Pros

  • Okay discoverability.
    The toolbar and menus are always visible. The user knows where to search a particular action. Actions can be organised under groups and labels. But it can be hard to find something in so many options.

  • Excellent coverage. Most actions can be implemented through buttons and menus. Complex and rarely used actions can be made available within a menu, without cluttering the UI (ex: "Search")

Cons

  • Mediocre context. Actions are far from the thing they act on. If the meaning of a button changes according to the context, it can be really confusing. Actions can be disabled or hidden depending on the context, but that can be hard to notice.

  • Slow to use. Needs to use the mouse, to navigate through menu or dropdowns. Complex actions may require extra steps ("Add image..." that spawns a modal).

  • Visual clutter, can have too much information. It distracts a lot and is not beginner friendly.

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