Editing Direct manipulation interface (section)

{{Short description|Interface in computer science, human-computer interaction, and interaction design}}
{{Other uses|Manipulation (disambiguation){{!}}Manipulation}}
{{More footnotes|date=December 2011}}
In [[computer science]],  [[human–computer interaction]], and [[interaction design]], '''direct manipulation''' is an approach to interfaces which involves continuous representation of objects of interest together with rapid, reversible, and incremental actions and feedback.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kwon|first=Bum chul|author2=Wagas Javed|author3=Niklas Elmgvist|author4=Ji Soo Yi|title=Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems|chapter=Direct manipulation through surrogate objects|date=May 2011|pages=627–636|doi=10.1145/1978942.1979033|url=https://engineering.purdue.edu/~elm/projects/surrogate/surrogate.pdf|isbn=9781450302289|citeseerx=10.1.1.400.340|access-date=2013-06-09|archive-date=2014-02-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201174849/https://engineering.purdue.edu/~elm/projects/surrogate/surrogate.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> As opposed to other interaction styles, for example, the [[command language]], the intention of direct manipulation is to allow a user to manipulate [[Object (computer science)|objects]] presented to them, using actions that correspond at least loosely to manipulation of [[physical object]]s.  An example of direct manipulation is resizing a [[Geometric primitive|graphical shape]], such as a rectangle, by dragging its corners or edges with a [[mouse (computing)|mouse]].

Having real-world metaphors for objects and actions can make it easier for a user to learn and use an interface (some might say that the interface is more natural or intuitive), and rapid, incremental feedback allows a user to make fewer errors and complete tasks in less time, because they can see the results of an action before completing the action, thus evaluating the output and compensating for mistakes.

The term was introduced by [[Ben Shneiderman]] in 1982 within the context of office applications and the [[desktop metaphor]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Shneiderman|first=Ben|title=The future of interactive systems and the emergence of direct manipulation|journal=Behaviour & Information Technology|year=1982|volume=1|issue=3|pages=237–256|doi=10.1080/01449298208914450}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
|last= Shneiderman|first= Ben|author-link= Ben Shneiderman|title= Direct Manipulation. A Step Beyond Programming Languages|journal= IEEE Computer|volume= 1|issue= 8|pages= 57–69|date=August 1983|doi= 10.1109/MC.1983.1654471|url= http://www.elearning-reviews.org/topics/human-computer-interaction/design-principles/1983-shneiderman-direct-manipulation/|access-date=2010-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208111520/http://www.elearning-reviews.org/topics/human-computer-interaction/design-principles/1983-shneiderman-direct-manipulation/|archive-date=8 February 2012}}</ref> Individuals in academia and computer scientists doing research on future user interfaces often put as much or even more stress on tactile control and feedback, or sonic control and feedback than on the visual feedback given by most [[GUI]]s. As a result, the term  has been more widespread in these environments.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}