Internet Security ABC - Toolbar Traps - What You Should Know BEFORE Downloading that "Helpful" Toolbar

Toolbar Traps - What You Should Know BEFORE Downloading that "Helpful" Toolbar

It seems like everyone on the internet is trying to push some helpful toolbar or another on you. They tell you need this one and that this other one is better than the one you already have. Those narrow rows of buttons that are used to access commands and give you all the options you need to navigate online can be quite pesky, especially when merchants are trying to convince you that you need more than one. Although most toolbars can be turned on and off, is it really necessary to have more than one?

Some toolbars can be very convenient when you need to gain access to a commonly used routine. Most toolbars contain graphics on the buttons while others offers drop down lists. They can be useful, if and when they are needed. If a toolbar design is consistent and made carefully, then it should speed up

the users' task by directly accessing important functions that are normally hidden on the menu. Too many toolbars can reduce their effectiveness by making the toolbars hard to find. Also, too many rows of toolbars will reduce your screen space.

Toolbars effectiveness is only increased by maintaining a certain level of consistency between other applications. Normally the main toolbar will always have a New, Open and Save button appearing in the first three buttons. However, in a browser application the first three buttons should be Back, Forward, Stop and Reload, exactly in that order.

Your toolbar should only have the most commonly used functions and not a bunch of buttons for every other menu item. You should have your toolbars appear below the main menu, as a default. Additional toolbars should be set up to be able to turn on and off as you wish. You don't want a screen full of toolbars that you are not using. You should make sure that all of your functions remain accessible through the main menu bar, either directly or indirectly, you should be able to have access to them. Be sure to save the toolbars application position and contents as a part of the application configuration so you can easily restore it when the application resumes.

Never use vertical toolbars. The human eye scan's horizontally, not vertically, and drop down lists can not be used vertically. The only time you should consider using a vertical toolbar is if the application window you are using requires more than three toolbars to appear below the main menu bar by default. Although, it would be better just to close the unused toolbars by default. Another reason would be if the configuration of the application window would contain a great deal of wasted space if a horizontal toolbar is used instead. If for some reason you feel you simply must use a vertical toolbar, then you can at least ensure another user the option to make the toolbar appear horizontally if they choose.

For every toolbar you choose, you should be able to select whether or not you want that toolbar to show at that time, and if you want to see graphics, text only or both. The user should also be allowed to override the control center toolbar defaults for that application in the Preferences dialog.

Most toolbars have controls that appear in a text label, preferably a single word, which would appear beside or below the control. For every control that appears on the toolbar, when you place your cursor over the selection, you should see a short and concise description of the control, but provide more information than the one word text label.

Be certain that whatever toolbar you choose to download will have some benefit to it and that you're not just downloading it because it's offered. You want to be careful with anything you download over the internet, because some downloads can carry certain risks. A simple toolbar can carry a devastating virus along with it or can download other items that you don't want on your computer. Remember that everything you download takes up space on your hard drive. It's up to the user to decide how much space they can afford to use and if adding the extra toolbars are really all that necessary.

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