1、Reference numberISO/IEC 11581-1:2000(E)ISO/IEC 2000INTERNATIONALSTANDARDISO/IEC11581-1First edition2000-04-01Information technology User systeminterfaces and symbols Icon symbolsand functions Part 1:Icons GeneralTechnologies de linformation Interfaces pour systme utilisateur etsymboles Symboles et f
2、onctions dicnes Partie 1: Icnes GnralitsAdopted by INCITS (InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards) as an American National Standard.Date of ANSI Approval: 1/25/01Published by American National Standards Institute,25 West 43rd Street, New York, New York 10036Copyright 2002 by In
3、formation Technology Industry Council (ITI).All rights reserved.These materials are subject to copyright claims of International Standardization Organization (ISO), InternationalElectrotechnical Commission (IEC), American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and Information Technology Industry Counc
4、il(ITI). Not for resale. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, including an electronic retrieval system, withoutthe prior written permission of ITI. All requests pertaining to this standard should be submitted to ITI, 1250 Eye Street NW,Washington, DC 20005.Printed in the United
5、 States of AmericaISO/IEC 11581-1:2000(E)PDF disclaimerThis PDF file may contain embedded typefaces. In accordance with Adobes licensing policy, this file may be printed or viewed but shall notbe edited unless the typefaces which are embedded are licensed to and installed on the computer performing
6、the editing. In downloading thisfile, parties accept therein the responsibility of not infringing Adobes licensing policy. The ISO Central Secretariat accepts no liability in thisarea.Adobe is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.Details of the software products used to create this PDF file can
7、 be found in the General Info relative to the file; the PDF-creation parameterswere optimized for printing. Every care has been taken to ensure that the file is suitable for use by ISO member bodies. In the unlikely eventthat a problem relating to it is found, please inform the Central Secretariat a
8、t the address given below. ISO/IEC 2000All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronicor mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from either ISO at the address b
9、elow or ISOs member bodyin the country of the requester.ISO copyright officeCase postale 56 Gb7 CH-1211 Geneva 20Tel. + 41 22 749 01 11Fax + 41 22 734 10 79E-mail copyrightiso.chWeb www.iso.chPrinted in Switzerlandii ISO/IEC 2000 All rights reservedISO/IEC 11581-1:2000(E) ISO/IEC 2000 All rights res
10、erved iiiForewordISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical Commission)form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of ISO or IECparticipate in the development of International Standards through
11、technical committees established by therespective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC technical committeescollaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental and non-governmental, inliaison with ISO and IEC, also take p
12、art in the work.International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 3.In the field of information technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.Draft International Standards adopted by the joint technical commit
13、tee are circulated to national bodies for voting.Publication as an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting a vote.Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this part of ISO/IEC 11581 may be the subject ofpatent rights. ISO and
14、 IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.International Standard ISO/IEC 11581-1 was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Informationtechnology, Subcommittee SC 35, User interfaces.ISO/IEC 11581 consists of the following parts, under the general
15、 title Information technology User systeminterfaces and symbols Icon symbols and functions: Part 1: Icons General Part 2: Object icons Part 3: Pointer icons Part 4: Control icons Part 5: Tool icons Part 6: Action iconsISO/IEC 11581-1:2000(E)iv ISO/IEC 2000 All rights reservedIntroductionIcons are us
16、ed on visual display terminals (VDTs, or screens) to facilitate interaction between computer-basedapplications (software products) and their users. Icon graphics can provide a language-independent means ofcommunicating information to the user. They are part of a graphical interface that can facilita
17、te the users ability tolearn, understand, and remember functional elements of the system, and aid in the manipulation of these elements.Typically, a graphical user interface draws on a users environment to provide a metaphorical representation of theusers tasks. A metaphor provides an analogy to con
18、cepts already familiar to the user, from which the user candeduce the systems use and behaviour. Icons can express the metaphor directly, as graphical representations ofthe metaphorical objects. They may also directly represent a physical object.Icons are distinguished from other symbols on screens
19、by the fact that they represent underlying system functions.Icons represent the objects, pointers, controls and tools making up the domain of an application and that usersmanipulate in doing their jobs. They can also represent status indicators used by the computer system to giveinformation to the u
20、ser and to mediate user interactions with software applications.Figure 1 shows how the parts of ISO/IEC 11581 are organized. Symbols primarily intended for use on equipmentother than screens are standardized in ISO 7000, ISO 7001, and IEC 60417.Although different types of icons are distinguished for
21、 clarity, ISO/IEC 11581 does not imply that these types ofsymbols are disjoint. For example, a single icon may be simultaneously a pointer and a status indicator, or a statusindicator may change to a pointer icon when the cursor is moved over a window that contains a different process.Figure 1 Organ
22、ization of ISO/IEC 11581INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 11581-1:2000(E) ISO/IEC 2000 All rights reserved 1Information technology User system interfaces and symbols Icon symbols and functions Part 1:Icons General1 ScopeISO/IEC 11581 applies to software products providing office applications such as do
23、cument production, desktoppublishing, finance, and planning that present their functions via a graphical user interface.ISO/IEC 11581 applies to software products for people who are familiar with office work but who are at present notnecessarily familiar with computer-based applications.ISO/IEC 1158
24、1 is meant to be used by persons involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of icons forgraphical user interfaces to computer-based office applications, and by procurers of systems that employ suchinterfaces.Other parts of ISO/IEC 11581 contain:Gbe graphics of commonly used icons, andGbe
25、 descriptions of the functionality of the icons.This part of ISO/IEC 11581-1 provides a framework for the development and design of icons and their applicationon screens capable of displaying graphics as well as text. It contains:Gbe general requirements and recommendations for icons;Gbe global vari
26、ations to the graphical representations of icons.2 ConformanceA system, application, or set of one or more icon(s) conforms to this part of ISO/IEC 11581 if all icons available tothe user in the computer system, application or set conform to clause 5 and subclause 6.1.3 Normative referenceThe follow
27、ing normative document contains provisions which, through reference in this text, constitute provisions ofthis part of ISO/IEC 11581. For dated references, subsequent amendments to, or revisions of, any of thesepublications do not apply. However, parties to agreements based on this part of ISO/IEC 1
28、1581 are encouraged toinvestigate the possibility of applying the most recent edition of the normative document indicated below. Forundated references, the latest edition of the normative document referred to applies. Members of ISO and IECmaintain registers of currently valid International Standard
29、s.ISO 9241-3:1992, Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) Part 3: Visualdisplay requirements.ISO/IEC 11581-1:2000(E)2 ISO/IEC 2000 All rights reserved4 Terms and definitionsFor the purposes of this part of ISO/IEC 11581, the following terms and definitions apply.
30、4.1action iconicon, which acts upon a selected source and/or target, and provides a single step access to functions typically alsoavailable via a menu4.2applicationcollection of functions with which a user can perform a task4.3comprehensibilityease with which the meaning of an icon is understood4.4c
31、ontrol icongraphic, often analogous to physical controls such as dials, radio buttons, which allow a user to directly manipulatedata, other objects or their attributes4.5discriminabilityease with which a given icon can be distinguished from other icons that might occur in close spatial, temporal, or
32、contextual proximity4.6graphicgraphical representation of a specific instance of a generic objectSeeFigure24.7icongraphic displayed on the screen of a visual display that represents a function of the computer system4.8icon functioncapability of the computer system represented by an icon4.9learnabili
33、tyease with which the system function represented by an icon can be recalled after it has been understood4.10legibilityeasewithwhichthegraphicdetailofaniconcanbediscerned4.11metaphoract of relating to concepts already familiar to users and from which users can derive the computer systems useand beha
34、viourNOTE For example, a picture of a file cabinet is used to represent an electronic storage device on the basis that bothobjects have in common the function of storing documents; a picture of a paper document is used to represent a data file on thebasis that both objects have in common the functio
35、n of containing data.ISO/IEC 11581-1:2000(E) ISO/IEC 2000 All rights reserved 34.12object iconicon that represents a function by association with an object, and that can be moved and openedNOTE The association between the object icon and its function may be metaphorical, e.g., when a folder graphic
36、is used torepresent a subdirectory, or direct, e.g., when a printer graphic is used to represent a printer.4.13openaction that displays a view of an object and allows access to its contents4.14pointer iconicon that is logically attached to a physical input device, and that the user manipulates to in
37、teract with other screenelements4.15recognisabilityease with which it is possible to identify an icon based on previous experience with the same or similar icons4.16sensitive regionarea of the icon that responds to user input4.17status indicatoricon that represents the current condition of a compute
38、r system function or of a computer system dialogue4.18tool iconicon whose selection changes the function and shape of the pointer icon to perform a task associated with the tooldepicted by the icon graphic5 Conceptual frameworkConforming icons shall enable the user to relate the graphic of the icon
39、to the function of the icon as specified inthis clause and illustrated by the framework in Figure 2 and the table in Figure 3. The framework shows how icongraphics can be developed to support the intended user interpretation of the implemented icon, that is, to supportan interpretation that represen
40、ts the function associated with the icon.NOTE An example of a non-conforming icon would be the use of a guillotine graphic for the function execute. The iconwould rely on the double meaning of the word in English and does not convey the meaning of execute as used in the context ofa computer system.5
41、.1 MetaphorAn icon provides a visual link between a function and an object in a metaphoric environment (e.g. a desktop). Thatenvironment provides the conceptual link between the graphical symbol displayed and the function it represents.5.2 FunctionThe function is the capability of the computer syste
42、m represented by the icon. Icons also have other properties,including behaviour. This behaviour may be an effect of user interaction or it may represent a change in computersystem state.ISO/IEC 11581-1:2000(E)4 ISO/IEC 2000 All rights reservedFigure 2 Framework used to specify icons5.3 AbstractionTh
43、e abstraction is the conceptual representation of the function in terms of the general class of objects that couldsupport the function.5.4 Generic objectThe generic object is a particular class of object that could perform the function.5.5 Specific instanceThe specific instance is a realisation of t
44、he generic object, corresponding to a particular object in the metaphoricenvironment.5.6 Basic unitsBasic units are the conceptual parts of the specific object that may be used to draw graphic components.5.7 Graphic componentsThe graphic components are the visible representation of the basic units n
45、ecessary to construct an icon.ISO/IEC 11581-1:2000(E) ISO/IEC 2000 All rights reserved 5Figure 3 Examples of conceptual framework componentsISO/IEC 11581-1:2000(E)6 ISO/IEC 2000 All rights reserved5.8 GraphicThe graphic is a graphical representation of the symbol that is the intended icon. It is con
46、structed from the graphiccomponents.5.9 Presented iconThe icon is presented on the screen in a style appropriate for the designers intent and allowed by the computersystem technology. When implemented in a computer system, the associated function is available throughinteraction with the icon.6 Requi
47、rements and recommendations for iconsIt is important that icons are viewed not only as individual graphics with their associated functionality, but also thatthe context in which they are used is considered as well. This part of ISO/IEC 11581 describes requirements foricons as they relate to other el
48、ements on the computer screen, to sets of icons and to consistency among thesesymbols.6.1 Requirements6.1.1 The appearance of an icon when representing one state or mode of the computer system shall be clearlydiscriminable from that representing another state or mode.6.1.2 An icon shall remain compr
49、ehensible and discriminable through any changes in appearance due tochanges in its state or mode, in the environment for which it was intended.6.1.3 All icons shall conform to clauses 4 and 5 of ISO 9241-3:1992.6.1.4 Whenever an icon is moved to a position overlapping another icon, but not in such a way as to activate anysensitive regions, the overlapping sensitive region of the moved icon shall be on top of the other icon.6.1.5 Interacting with icons shall not destroy any user data without user per