Back button unification

[tpitts15]

One of the issues that I have with the back button is the fact that in different apps, it has different functionality.

Personally, I dont think it makes any sense for apps to have access to the back button at all. The search key and the home key are both used only by the operating system and this is how the back button should be used as well. It would simplify app closing and switching. For example, if you want to close an app and open the previous one, press the back key once (rather than several times depending on how deep in the app you are). If a developer desires his/her app to have a back key, they can add one to the toolbar at the bottom of their app. I often accidentally exit an app because I forget that I am only on the first layer, whereas a developer programmed back key would not exit the app in that case.

This is an important step in unifying the WP experience and unfortunately it may be difficult to implement due to all the apps that already make use of the back key. Please include your opinions on this topic.

 

[JerseySal]

Some people might consider a toolbar a loss of real estate on the screen. I find good use of the back button while using IE.

 

[dazr87]

i totally agree! one of my pet hates when trying to close an ap is having to press back back back back back...... until im finally out from the depths of the app!

 

[tpitts15]

Some people might consider a toolbar a loss of real estate on the screen. I find good use of the back button while using IE.

IE is actually the app where I find this the most annoying, because if I want to close it, depending on how many different pages I have loaded during my current browsing session, I could have to hit the back key up to 20 times just to close the app. Same functionality as the on-phone back button you use now. It could be put as an option to replace the refresh key next to the url bar. Probably close to 90% of apps already use a toolbar at the bottom so adding a back button would not take away more real estate.

 

[BeaverJuicer]

IE is actually the app where I find this the most annoying, because if I want to close it, depending on how many different pages I have loaded during my current browsing session, I could have to hit the back key up to 20 times just to close the app. Same functionality as the on-phone back button you use now. It could be put as an option to replace the refresh key next to the url bar. Probably close to 90% of apps already use a toolbar at the bottom so adding a back button would not take away more real estate.

Easier way... Go to the tabs page, hit the X over your tab. Then hit back once.

 

[Robert Carpenter]

IE is actually the app where I find this the most annoying, because if I want to close it, depending on how many different pages I have loaded during my current browsing session, I could have to hit the back key up to 20 times just to close the app. Same functionality as the on-phone back button you use now. It could be put as an option to replace the refresh key next to the url bar. Probably close to 90% of apps already use a toolbar at the bottom so adding a back button would not take away more real estate.

The problem you are having was clear from the moment you mentioned "closing an app". You said with IE, the problem is when you want to close it.

The question is, why do you want to close the app? The next question is, why do you need to close an app?

There can be a million reasons why you may want to close an app. But there are 0 reasons why you need to close an app. This is a product that was developed around the users' needs, not the users' wants.

Hope this helped

 

[tpitts15]

The problem you are having was clear from the moment you mentioned "closing an app". You said with IE, the problem is when you want to close it.

The question is, why do you want to close the app? The next question is, why do you need to close an app?

There can be a million reasons why you may want to close an app. But there are 0 reasons why you need to close an app. This is a product that was developed around the users' needs, not the users' wants.

Hope this helped

I understand where you're coming from and I also understand that, yes, there is technically no reason that I need to close an app. But my argument is not for the ability to close apps it is for the unification of the back button the way the search key was unified during the nodo update(if my history is right). It would make sense for the back key to exit the current app and open the previous app. It is slightly counterintuitive to use an off-screen back button to navigate in an app as I have witnessed many times when friends try to use apps on my phone. If they need to go back they usually freeze up looking for an on-screen option until I tell them to use the permanent back button.

 

[leonkehoe]

In my opinion the back button works as it should - by taking you back to the screen you were previously on. It's interesting that not everyone agrees with how it functions though, but I imagine Microsoft sought usability experts' advice and held numerous user testing sessions before deciding how it should work.

 

[despertador]

No, that would be a horrid experience in my opinion. One of the Metro app guidelines mentioned somewhere was that there shouldn't EVER be a back button on screen - whether it's an exit button or a go-back-to-the-previous-page button because the hardware back button does all of this. And if this became true, when would all of the 130,000 apps in the Store update to fix for the reunification?