6.2-5 Indicating Active Display

When using the group-view display, the user should receive a clear indication that the display is active.

Additional Information:
Guideline 2.5.2-6 states that an active display window should be perceptually distinct from inactive windows. A common technique for conventional computer systems is to apply a visual code to the frame of the active window. However, for group-view displays, a multi-dimension coding mechanism is needed to indicate the status for each user because the display may be active for some operator but not for others. However, this type of coding mechanism may possibly be distracting and confusing. Thus, another approach may be to use the position of each user's cursor as a perceptually distinct cue to indicate that the group-view display is active for that user. This approach requires that the cursors be readily observable so the user can identify the display in which the cursor is present and perceptually distinct so the user can identify the cursor from those of other users. This approach may be supplemented by coding mechanisms at the user's individual-view display to indicate that the group-view display is active.