A comparison of four navigation techniques in a 2D browsing task

Four window navigation techniques were compared in the experiment: scroll bars, dragging, and two modifications of a “birds eye view.” It was found that standard scroll bar navigation was associated with the slowest performance and was rated by the subjects as least preferable, The best performance and the highest preference ranks were observed under the “birds eye view” conditions. Individual differences between subjects and the potential role of task specificity are discussed.