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The usage of Ajax in web applications and web sites is rapidly increasing. If not handled properly Ajax fucntionalities can break users' expectations and conventions. This is why it is important to help users easily identify what is going on with the system and prevent them to make errors during Ajax operations. Keep users informed Ajax indicators are very important tools that help users to have an understanding of what is going on with the system and what are responses from the system. Indicators should be shown as soon as request starts and hidden when request ends. I've seen so many times that indicator is visible even when it was obvious that request is finished (or even worse, in some cases there were not any visual clue of what is going on). Simple indicators Simple Ajax indicators provide a strong visual clue that request is in progress. They can be shown as simple text or as an image, usually animated. If it is in a text form, be sure to provide meaningful message, like "Sending email...". Messages like "Waiting..." could confuse users. What am I waiting for? Is something wrong with the system? If it is an animated image they are usually represented by rotating animation. This is one of the rare good usages (if not only) of animated gifs today Loadinfo, my favorite choice when it comes to indicators, offers a plenty of animated gifs. Some of them are really fancy, like rotating hourglass. Progress indicators If an operation needs a longer time to execute you should use progress indicators. This type of indicators provide a real time information about the progress status, usually by showing how much time has passed and how much has left to the end of request. Progress indicator can also show a status message explaining what is happening at the moment. Dropbox provides graphical status indicator as well as textual status messages. This is the efficient way to communicate the status of long operations. Position Whatever option you choose, you have to make sure that i

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Usability tips for visualizing Ajax requests

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