Icons versus text for common actions

Question

We are currently trying to improve our usability in our intranet web application. One of our goals is to declare certain pages that have large grids. To do this, we began to use the usual actions in the grids as functions (for example, Delete, Reset To Zero, Mark As Complete, etc.).

My initial idea was to find and use icons (i.e. Delete = big red x, Reset = arrow bending around itself, Mark As Complete checkmark, etc.) to represent these tasks. Some of my colleagues agree with me; they say the icons make the tool more professional. Others, however, say that the icons hide their intended function, and plain text such as “Delete” would be more appropriate.

Assuming we will include a description of the function’s tooltip regardless of the type you choose (icons or text), which one is more useful? Can we use icons for some actions and text for others, or will it hurt usability?

Answer 1

I am a big fan of icons. Hell, the text box that I am typing this answer in right now has only icons. You have to be an idiot not to know that big dark B means bold ... I think that if your icon itself explains (for example, big red X for deletion, etc.), then this is definitely the way to go. It also makes it easier for the user to find the right action.

Answer 2

Using icons for some functions and text for others is probably not very consistent (unless you follow established idioms, such as toolbars and menus, which are places for commands, although one for icons, the other for shortcuts, it doesn’t mean that good idiom though).

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Answer 7

We always use text in our company, we had a product with icons, and many had many complaints from customers, for some reason these icons made the user do the wrong operations, especially when they did a lot of things at the same time, for example talking on the phone and entering data. Personally, I think that if the operation is very simple, then the icon is in order, but if there are several tasks listed together, this may be confusing.