# Command control center (C&C)

Required by pattern Multiple settings
May require patterns Toolbar, Palette, Launchpad, Menubar, Garden of windows

...when your application has Multiple Settings, each application must be easily accessed and integrated in order to create the sense that everything is leading the user to reaching the established goal.

==> Users need a well defined mechanism to initiate tasks and navigate among them. <==

Users want a consistent interface that is always present and easy to reach, an interface they can use to instruct the application to do their bidding.

When there are many tools, windows, or areas of concentration, users will need a mechanism to get there. And without a central navigation center, users will be forced to search for previously opened applications. This may result in two or more instances of the same application because the user could not find the previous instance.

Separate windows in an application should not exist without any well defined way to control them. This is especially true in a multitasking environment, where multiple distinct applications may be running at the same time. The user needs to know what visible or iconified window belongs to a particular application.

Consider an integrated development environment (IDE) that allows the users to bring up the debugger only from the compiler window's menu bar. What if the user wishes to debug a previously compiled program? How will she know that she needs to bring up the compiler window to access the debugger? An intuitive solution is needed.

Therefore:

==> Provide a command control center that is always present, easily accessible and provides quick access to tools, tasks and windows. If a single control center window cannot be provided, present your control center as commands that are accessible from every window's menubar. <==

The command control center acts as the ``home base'' for coordinating applications within Multiple Settings, or for coordinating secondary windows within a Garden of Windows.

In Symantec Cafe (a Java program development tool), users know they need to perform tasks such as edit, compile, run and debug. But, how do they navigate through these tasks? They use menubars, toolbars and other controls to reach each task. Once these tools are identified, they should be easy to locate and provide navigation among tasks as seamlessly as possible. In Cafe, each task is associated with a window. A command center model is adopted that makes it easy to select tasks by choosing windows.

The Windows 95 Start Bar is always visible and always contains the names of the running applications. One simple click of the mouse on a name brings any application to the foreground. The users remember where these controls are and rely on them to _get around_.

When building your control center, you may use a Menubar, or perhaps a Launchpad to provide navigation among your Garden of Windows, while a Toolbar or Palette to provide access to tools...