System Tray

The icon was displayed, so I placed the cursor over it and read the ballon tip.

Getting Started

I double-clicked the icon and it displayed this Automatic Updates window.

• The radio buttons are in separate group boxes.
• The group box has no label.

Being Nosey

I selected the Custom Install (Advanced) option to see what would be installed.

This changes the default button from saying Install to saying Next. This neatly switches the window from being a dialogue window to being a wizard. Neither of these should have an access key because Return and Enter are reserved for the default button.

I clicked Next.

Choose Updates

You get a checked list of updates, which is labelled Update Title. This should have an access key. It responds correctly to all keyboard and mouse actions I know of.

Below it is a text box using an old 3D border instead of the new 2D border style. This is labelled Details and should have an access key.

The Details box provides the file size, description and a link to more information for the selected item in the Update Title list. When you move focus to this box via Tab or Shift+Tab, the entire text is selected. When you give focus using the mouse, this doesn’t happen. This is the same as standard textboxes throughout Windows XP. Other keyboard and mouse stuff worked fine.

The hyperlink in the Details box seems inaccessible using the keyboard only. If you move the insertion point into the hyperlink text and press the Properties key, nothing happens. This is consistent with right-clicking on it.

Interestingly, if you right-click on the hyperlink in the bottom left of the window, the cursor changes from the hand icon to the default icon. Right-clicking the hyperlink in the Details box retains the hand icon.

The whole page is contained by a group box that has no label.

Rock ’n’ Scroll

Interesting scrolling bug:

1. Scroll to the bottom of a long Details entry using the mouse or keyboard.
2. Select an different entry, using the mouse or keyboard, which only just scrolls beyond one page.
3. The scroll position remains where it was for the long item. Most of the new entry is now beyond the top edge of the Details box.
4. You can scroll up to view it using the mouse or keyboard.

The scroll position should be reset to the top when you change item.

I clicked the Install button.

Updates Are Being Installed

Now you get the progress page. It features a text box with the old 3D border style. This is labelled Installation Status. Below it is a thick progress bar which is labelled Overall Progress.

The Installation Status box says Initialising installation for quite a long time and the Overall Progress bar remains blank. You may think nothing is happening if your HDD is quiet.

This page has an unlabelled group box around it.

“I know when I’m not wanted!”

Just as the first item starts making progress, the Automatic Updates window minises itself to the taskbar. It pops up a balloon which says:

Installing updates...

You can continue working while updates are being installed. To view detailed progress, click the Microsoft Update icon below.

The pointy part of the balloon is placed on the correct icon.

Why begin showing me progress which it thinks I won’t want to see? It could have gone straight to the system tray when I clicked Install.

“Come Back!”

Clicking the icon duely restores the Automatic Updates window, showing the “detailed progress” it is making.

Clicking the Minimise button sends it back to the system tray, from which you can restore it by clicking the icon.

The system tray is keyboard accessible, although difficult to get to. Automatic Updates works correctly with it.

Poking and Prodding

You can select text in the Installation Status box. There was no context menu. I didn’t try Ctrl+C.

Selected text should always be complemented by a context menu.

Scrolling Status

By the 6^th item, the Installation Status box had a vertical scrollbar. It moved the scroll position to the bottom of the box as each new line was added. I didn’t try interfeering with this.

“Waiter, Waiter!”

“There’s a caret on my Installation complete page!”

Look closely at the left edge of the window. The black line is the insertion point from the Installation Status box. It continues to blink.

Anyway, this is the Installation complete page and it says:

You must restart your computer for the updates to take effect.

Strangely, the Close button is the default button for this page. Also, the tooltip for the icon says Installing updates... when this is the the Installation complete page.

I clicked the Restart Now button.