dimension palette fiasco – update!

Back in February I did a post titled “dimension palette fiasco” which discussed the usability of the SolidWorks interface when the “new to SolidWorks 2010” dimension palette was active.  This post received a lot of attention on my blog and drew a fair amount of comments from unhappy users who were unhappy with how the dimension palette worked.  This post also received some attention from Tom Spine, Senior Manager of User Experience Design at SolidWorks Corporation.

In the middle of March, Tom contacted me to see if I would be interested in participating in a usability test with the revamped dimension palette that was changed in service pack 3.0.  After looking at it then I was really pleased to see how the new product acted during creating drawings and was excited to see what some of our users thought of it when it was released.

So what is the big change from the original dimension palette design to the new one?  In the picture below you will notice that a MUCH smaller popup will appear when you add a dimension or select a pre-existing dimension.  By hovering over the new smaller popup you will then activate the original dimension palette popup.  But, the original palette does not stay active unless you click somewhere inside the popup.  You can also drag it out of your way in case you would like to see it in a different area.

So what kind of feedback have I gotten about this new design?  The users here seem to really like it.  They definitely see the benefit of the dimension palette but the previous design did not offer enough value for the hassle that it caused.  With the new design being more compact, they are using it on a regular basis now.  I personally would like to see some additional things added to the palette as I still find myself having to go to the PropertyManager in order to get my dimensions to appear how I would like but this is a different story for a different day.

Look for an upcoming post on how YOU can influence the future of SolidWorks by participating in usability testing.  It is definitely time well spent.