The controls with which a user operates a software application can be as critical as the control panel of a jet fighter. In both cases, a sub-optimal arrangement and/or design of controls can result in triggering unintended operations. Such unintended operations can produce disastrous results. For example, when a user interacts with the user interface of an application with the expectation that a particular operation will be triggered, and a different operation is actually triggered, the consequences can be (a) the deletion/loss of critical information, (b) public exposure of confidential information, (c) an unintended transfer of assets or funds, etc.
Ideally, user interface controls are such that unintended operations are never triggered. To that end, it is important that the nature of the controls is such that it is clear to a user the exact operation that will be triggered by each type of interaction. Unfortunately, for many applications, the operations that are triggered by interactions can be ambiguous and non-intuitive. When the operation involves the transfer of an asset, the formation of a contract, or any other operation that has weighty consequences, it is particularly important that the interface be as intuitive and unambiguous as possible.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.