Understanding User Behavior in Window Selection using Dragging for Multiple Targets

Window selection is a fundamental method in desktop environments for interacting with multiple targets, typically performed by successive operations like click-drag-release (i.e., a single sequence of dragging). Although this method is common in GUI interactions, there has been limited research to understand user behavior during window selection. This study explores user behavior and performance during window selection using dragging. We empirically studied the impact of several GUI parameters — including the size, interval, number, and layout of targets — on window selection for multiple targets. Based on well-established existing motor models, we analyzed user behavior in terms of time performance and derived a more suitable model. Additionally, our new prediction model effectively predicted time performance in partially constrained scenarios. This study provides new insights into user behavior during window selection for multiple targets. We hope that our research findings will assist GUI designers, practitioners, and researchers in testing their designs.