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Animation
can bring a user interface to life. It is common for parts of a user
interface to respond to user input. For example, buttons look like they have
been physically pressed in when you click on them; UI elements might light up
or change style to indicate that they might do something interesting if
clicked on. Tasteful use of animation can enhance the realism of ‘moving
parts’ in a UI, and make for a smoother feeling UI.
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Also,
animation can be used to make visual transitions easier to follow. Sudden
changes are jarring to watch, and can make us lose our place in the UI. By
animating transitions, life can be made easier for the user.
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Almost
any property of any visual element can be animated. (Strictly speaking, any dependency
property on any element derived from FrameworkElement can be animated.)
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Of
course it’s important to design your animations with sensitivity to the user.
Careless use of animation can have a terrible impact on the UI. Too many
animations will make the UI garish and distracting; animations that are slow
or which force the user to wait until the end of the animation lead to
frustration. So be careful not to let them get in the way. But when animation
is used intelligently, it can enhance a UI significantly.
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