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by Sven Ryen |
PassMan 1.6.2 Tyson Tate Freeware |
PassMan is a simple database application that keeps track of your software registration codes and website passwords. The database is encrypted, so no codes can be pried without entering the correct password or phrase. This review is based upon version 1.6.2 of PassMan.
Overall approach
The main interface in PassMan consists of two windows: a floating toolbar palette (figure 1) and a combined database viewer/editor.
Figure 1: The PassMan toolbar.
Toolbars are often used in applications with many actions, or in situations where commands have to be available when all windows are closed. PassMan only has a handful of commands, and the main window is always available. Floating toolbars should be avoided when all buttons belong to one window. Instead, use regular buttons, or a toolbar along the top of the window.
Another issue to be aware of is that the toolbar and main window may be separated by empty space. This will slow down the user, as the "trips" from the main window to the toolbar and back take more time, compared to a situation where the buttons are located in the main window.
That said, the current PassMan toolbar has a few issues worth mentioning:
- The application name and version number should be removed.
- The buttons could benefit from having large icons (32x32 pixels) with labels below the icons, instead of the current "ToolTips" implementation.
- The "ToolTips" area looks like a button. It would be better not to use any border around this area. When no tool tip is being displayed, the area should be empty. It also would be better to place the tool tip beneath the buttons, on a separate row.
- As illustrated by figure 2, the icons’ shapes are nearly identical. It would be better to use a larger version of the tiny "badges", to make the icons more distinguishable.
Figure 2: Shapes of the toolbar icons.
The main window is shown in figure 3. The approach of using the window as a combined viewer and editor makes the interface easy and clean. However, having information split over two tab panes may slow down navigation, as the user will have to click several times in order to see all information about a database entry. To increase usability, one may remove the tabs, and enlarge the window to make room for the "Notes" field below the "Information" fields.
Figure 3: The main window.
The name of the selected item is displayed three times: on a beveled box, in a text field, and as a selection in the scrollable list. With all this redundancy, the beveled box can be removed. One could also consider removing the single bevel button that forms a header for the scrollable list, as it does not add any significant information to the interface.
The author has chosen to store both websites and programs in one list. There is also a popup menu available, which you can use to change a program into a website, and vice versa. This seems like an odd decision, as I can hardly imagine any program turning into a website over night. The two kinds of database entries have little in common, so a better solution would be to provide one list of registration codes, and another with websites. A tabbed interface, as shown in figure 4 would be suitable.
Figure 4: Suggestions for improving the main window.
Passwords and Safety
At first launch, the dialog shown in figure 5 appears. Unless the user has carefully studied the manual, the purpose of this password may not be truly obvious. Some users may also be skeptic against having to enter information at this point. In such situations, do what you can in order to make the user feel comfortable. Welcome him to your application, and then explain why he has to enter the password.
Figure 5: The password entry dialog.
To improve safety, the user should always confirm the password by entering it twice. Also, the user should not be able to change his password without first having to "authenticate" by entering his old password.
Registration
Figure 6: The Registration dialog.
The dialog in figure 6 appears on every launch until you register. The layout of this dialog may be slightly improved:
- The text field should have a label, such as "Enter registration key"
- "Register" button should be placed below the text field.
- The "Close" and "Register" buttons should both be regular push buttons.
- The "Close" button could be labeled "Register Later", and placed to the right of the "Register" button.
- The author should consider using the small system font (Geneva at 10 pt) for some of the text in this window.
If the an incorrect serial key is entered, a dialog will appear (figure 7). The exclamations points indicate yelling. As noted in the review of JobLog, yelling at your users is considered impolite. Chapter 11 of the Macintosh HIG has the following advise on dialog text: "A good alert box message says what went wrong, why it went wrong, and what the user can do about it. Try to express everything in the user’s vocabulary. (p 311)".
Figure 7: We have entered an incorrect serial key and are being yelled at — twice.
For this dialog, an appropriate phrase may be:
Registration failed because you entered an invalid key. Please try entering the key again.
The About Box
The About Box is implemented as a square box with no controls. Using one of these approaches would be preferable:
- Moveable modal dialog, with an "OK" button
- Regular window, with a Close box.
Submitting Bug Reports
The neatest feature of this application is the ability to submit bug reports and feature requests without having to launch your email application. Choosing "Send Report…" from the Apple menu brings up the window shown in figure 8.
Figure 8: Reports may be sent to the author from this window.
The "Your E-mail Address" entry field and the "Send" button should be moved to bring them into alignment with the "Notes" entry field. Also, Geneva should be used for the text entry field.
Figure 9: Error dialogs for the report feature.
When clicking the "Send" button, the application verifies the format of the email address. It also checks the "Notes" field to make sure it is not left empty. If errors are found, the dialogs in figure 9 are displayed. The second dialog is acceptable, while the first needs rewriting. Both dialogs are too short to meet the suggestions made by Apple in their guidelines (see the "Registration" section above).
The dialog in figure 10 is displayed while submitting a report.
- While the application is attempting to connect, a "Cancel" button should be displayed, to make interruption possible.
- Errors could have been handled better. Rather than simply showing an error number, display possible reasons why the error occured.
Figure 10: Progress dialog for the report feature.
Conclusion
PassMan is a sleek and useful application. There are no major flaws in the current interface, and anything mentioned in this review are really minor details. 
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