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Navigation Guidelines

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Each application typically consists of the following views: list view, summary view, and edit view.The following table describes the views and provides recommendations for using them.

View Description
List view When an application is first opened, the list view appears.

This view should be designed to provide summary information and access to more detailed information. Selecting an item in the list opens summary view.

Summary view The summary view displays information that is optimized for reading rather than editing.

When designing an application, use the summary view as a read-only, simplified display of the item.

Edit view The edit view appears when a new item is created, when the user chooses to edit an existing item, or when the user opens an item in an application that doesn't have a summary view.

When designing an application, optimize edit view for data entry, grouping related items and prioritizing more commonly edited items at the top of the screen.

Apart from the Today screen (Pocket PC) and Home screen (Smartphone), the title bar for an application should always display the application title to provide context as a user navigates within an application. It should never change to include document names or wizard titles.

See Also

Home and Today Screen Guidelines | Navigation Keys

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