User perceptual mechanisms in the search of computer command menus

Menu-based command systems, in which a user selects a command from a set of choices displayed to him, have acquired widespread use as a human-computer interface technique. The technique is especially attractive for use with new or untrained users since the user need not recall the command he wishes, but merely recognize it. But menu systems also find application in more sophisticated systems meant for expert users (for example, Teitelman, 1977) where they can be used to reduce the complexity of the options with which the user is presented.