Deleted Data Storage

The system saves the data the user has deleted in a Deleted Data Storage (an in-program waste basket), from which the user can fetch it back later [Cooper95]. The contents of the Deleted Data Storage are visualized to help the user identify the data.

Deleted Data Storage is a way to support non-linear undo, since the user can fetch pieces of data back without undoing all the operations between the the current state and the delete operation in the past.

Example 1: Deleted Data Storage in PowerPoint (edited screenshot) [Laakso01, p. 28]

In the edited PowerPoint screenshot above, the user has opened the Deleted Data window to fetch back a slide he deleted by mistake a while ago. He cannot use global undo, because that would undo all the edit operations (possibly complex work with hundreds of edit steps) he has made after the deletion.

References

Cooper95

Cooper A.,
About Face. The Essentials of User Interface Design.
IDG Books Worldwide, USA, 1995.

Laakso01

Laakso S.A.,
User Interfaces.
Lecture notes of the 581391-1 User Interfaces course, series D412, Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki, 2001.

 

 

Updated 21.07.2003 / Sari A. Laakso, email salaakso@cs.helsinki.fi