A computer system displays information to the user by a visual display. The ability of the user to access the information quickly and conveniently is, in large part, dependent upon the ease by which the user may interact with the computer through its visual display. Numerous advances in user interface design have been made which simplify the user's interaction .with the computer system. For example, the click and point characteristics of a mouse offer the user a visual alternative to conventional keyboard input. Similarly, "push buttons" displayed on the visual display, and selectable by the mouse pointer, permit the user to quickly activate selectable commands or options.
Despite the advances that have been made in user interface design, there still exists a need in the art for visual displays which permit a user to quickly and conveniently manipulate the computer system, particularly in the area of push buttons and the corresponding selectable commands or options which they activate.