{
  "_description": "Generated from data/ — edit the sources, not this file. The agent access guide explains the evidence boundary of every field.",
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  "locale": "en",
  "id": "indeterminate-progress",
  "name": {
    "zh": "不确定进度指示",
    "en": "Indeterminate Progress Indicator"
  },
  "page": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/entries/indeterminate-progress/",
  "self": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/entries/indeterminate-progress.json",
  "alternates": {
    "zh-CN": "https://designvocabulary.com/zh/entries/indeterminate-progress.json",
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    "query": "https://designvocabulary.com/api/query?lang=en",
    "guide": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/agents/",
    "llms": "https://designvocabulary.com/llms.txt"
  },
  "provenance": {
    "sourceBacked": [
      "entry.definition"
    ],
    "editorial": [
      "entry.boundary",
      "entry.signature",
      "entry.when",
      "entry.when_not",
      "entry.tradeoff",
      "entry.comparison",
      "entry.rules",
      "entry.relations",
      "entry.implementationNote",
      "entry.behavior"
    ],
    "scope": "Definitions reference these sources. Digital specimens, selection advice, relationships, and recipes are editorial work and have not been validated through user research.",
    "editorialStatus": "drafted",
    "specimenData": "fictional",
    "specimenNote": "Original fictional specimens. Definitions cite sources; usage advice and recipes are editorial.",
    "sources": [
      {
        "id": "nng-progress-indicators",
        "url": "https://www.nngroup.com/articles/progress-indicators/",
        "title": "Nielsen Norman Group · Progress Indicators Make a Slow System Less Insufferable",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-15",
        "archive": {
          "status": "available",
          "confirmed": true,
          "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916054722/https://www.nngroup.com/articles/progress-indicators/",
          "capturedAt": "2026-09-16T05:47:22Z",
          "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260915*/https://www.nngroup.com/articles/progress-indicators/"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "nng-response-times",
        "url": "https://www.nngroup.com/articles/response-times-3-important-limits/",
        "title": "Nielsen Norman Group · Response Times: The 3 Important Limits",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-15",
        "archive": {
          "status": "available",
          "confirmed": true,
          "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916035201/https://www.nngroup.com/articles/response-times-3-important-limits/",
          "capturedAt": "2026-09-16T03:52:01Z",
          "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260915*/https://www.nngroup.com/articles/response-times-3-important-limits/"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "mdn-progress-element",
        "url": "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/progress",
        "title": "MDN · <progress>",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-15",
        "archive": {
          "status": "available",
          "confirmed": true,
          "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916040819/https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Reference/Elements/progress",
          "capturedAt": "2026-09-16T04:08:19Z",
          "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260915*/https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/progress"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "wcag22-pause-stop-hide",
        "url": "https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/pause-stop-hide.html",
        "title": "W3C WAI · Understanding SC 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-15",
        "archive": {
          "status": "available",
          "confirmed": true,
          "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916040826/https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/pause-stop-hide.html",
          "capturedAt": "2026-09-16T04:08:26Z",
          "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260915*/https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/pause-stop-hide.html"
        }
      }
    ],
    "lists": [
      {
        "id": "M-C",
        "edition": "classic",
        "seat": 3,
        "origin": "issue-1-ledger",
        "page": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/lists/M-C/",
        "json": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/lists/M-C.json"
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        "origin": "issue-1-ledger",
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    "listDisclaimer": "Seat numbers are editorial positions, not scores, rankings, or popularity measurements. A list that is not filled is left as it is."
  },
  "entry": {
    "id": "indeterminate-progress",
    "type": "micro",
    "name": {
      "zh": "不确定进度指示",
      "en": "Indeterminate Progress Indicator"
    },
    "aliases": [
      "Spinner",
      "Loading Indicator",
      "加载动画"
    ],
    "granularity": "state",
    "intents": [
      "wait-for-content"
    ],
    "tags": [
      "loading",
      "unknown progress",
      "spinner",
      "looping animation",
      "indeterminate"
    ],
    "definition": "When remaining time or completed fraction cannot be known, a continuously spinning icon or looping bar shows that the system is still working, without reporting how much has actually been done.",
    "boundary": "An indeterminate progress indicator only answers whether the system is still working, not how much is done or how long is left; once a reliable completed amount and total are available, switch to a determinate progress bar instead — the two are not interchangeable, and a spinner must not be used to hide progress that could in fact be quantified. A skeleton screen is for when the content structure is known and only that structure is waiting to be filled; an indeterminate indicator is for when the completion fraction itself is unknown, or the wait covers the whole interface rather than a known structure.",
    "signature": [
      "A spinning icon or a looping bar plays continuously, showing no number or percentage",
      "It only conveys that work is in progress; the animation itself does not correspond to any calculable completed amount",
      "It is replaced immediately by the result, content, or an error once processing ends, rather than lingering"
    ],
    "when": [
      "The system cannot obtain a reliable completed amount or total",
      "The wait is expected to exceed about 1 second, and users need to see that the system is still responding rather than stuck",
      "The wait may exceed about 10 seconds, so text guidance or a way to cancel is needed alongside the animation to keep users oriented"
    ],
    "when_not": [
      "A real completed amount and total are already available, yet a vaguer spinner is used instead of switching to a determinate progress bar",
      "An animation that fills at a steady or accelerating pace is used to fake real progress, leading users to believe they are seeing a percentage",
      "The content structure is already known and only waiting to be filled in (use a skeleton screen instead)"
    ],
    "tradeoff": "A spinner or looping animation is simple to implement and avoids any false sense of precision, but once a wait passes about 10 seconds users lose patience and orientation; it still needs text guidance or a cancel option and cannot carry the waiting experience on animation alone.",
    "comparison": {
      "focus": "Tells users the system is still working, but not how much has been done",
      "mechanism": "A looping spinner or bar animation that does not correspond to any value",
      "cost": "Cannot convey remaining time; a long wait still needs extra text guidance or a cancel mechanism"
    },
    "sources": [
      {
        "id": "nng-progress-indicators",
        "title": "Nielsen Norman Group · Progress Indicators Make a Slow System Less Insufferable",
        "url": "https://www.nngroup.com/articles/progress-indicators/",
        "claim": "This article recommends reserving looping indeterminate indicators for waits of roughly 2 to 10 seconds, and switching to a determinate indicator that shows completion percentage once a wait exceeds 10 seconds.",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-15",
        "archive": {
          "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260915*/https://www.nngroup.com/articles/progress-indicators/",
          "status": "available",
          "checkedAt": "2026-09-16T05:46:58.176Z",
          "jobId": "spn2-9f1cb6ee0ec1afcc2efcbc9c16a74dd503faf511",
          "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916054722/https://www.nngroup.com/articles/progress-indicators/",
          "timestamp": "20260916054722"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "nng-response-times",
        "title": "Nielsen Norman Group · Response Times: The 3 Important Limits",
        "url": "https://www.nngroup.com/articles/response-times-3-important-limits/",
        "claim": "This article sets out three response-time limits of 0.1, 1, and 10 seconds: within about 1 second a user's train of thought stays uninterrupted, and beyond about 10 seconds users struggle to keep their attention on the task, so progress feedback and a way to interrupt the process become necessary.",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-15",
        "archive": {
          "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260915*/https://www.nngroup.com/articles/response-times-3-important-limits/",
          "status": "available",
          "checkedAt": "2026-09-16T03:50:36.309Z",
          "jobId": "spn2-a445b35eeb0d266caa0107c5f3694ef90bec60e8",
          "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916035201/https://www.nngroup.com/articles/response-times-3-important-limits/",
          "timestamp": "20260916035201"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "mdn-progress-element",
        "title": "MDN · <progress>",
        "url": "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/progress",
        "claim": "MDN explains that omitting the value attribute makes a progress element indeterminate, indicating that an activity is ongoing with no indication of how long it is expected to take.",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-15",
        "archive": {
          "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260915*/https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/progress",
          "status": "available",
          "checkedAt": "2026-09-16T04:07:05.492Z",
          "jobId": "spn2-eda5b33b36bb07caa933987d49748602f928cb5f",
          "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916040819/https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Reference/Elements/progress",
          "timestamp": "20260916040819"
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "wcag22-pause-stop-hide",
        "title": "W3C WAI · Understanding SC 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide",
        "url": "https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/pause-stop-hide.html",
        "claim": "This criterion requires that moving content which starts automatically, runs alongside other content, and lasts more than 5 seconds provide a way to pause, stop, or hide it; the page uses a \"loading\" animation shown during a download as an example, noting that if the animation is not presented in parallel with other interactive content it can be treated as essential motion and does not need such a control.",
        "checkedAt": "2026-09-15",
        "archive": {
          "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260915*/https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/pause-stop-hide.html",
          "status": "available",
          "checkedAt": "2026-09-22T14:39:30.744Z",
          "jobId": "spn2-f87881b95ff0174bd8037945300fdad38de222d4",
          "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260916040826/https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/pause-stop-hide.html",
          "timestamp": "20260916040826"
        }
      }
    ],
    "relations": [
      {
        "target": "determinate-progress",
        "kind": "alternative",
        "condition": "Choosing how to present waiting feedback",
        "reason": "When a reliable completed amount and total exist, switch to a determinate progress bar; an indeterminate indicator must not stand in for it to imply precise progress, so the two are chosen based on measurability.",
        "basis": "editorial"
      },
      {
        "target": "skeleton",
        "kind": "alternative",
        "condition": "Deciding what to show during the wait",
        "reason": "Use a skeleton screen when the content structure is known and only waiting to be filled; use an indeterminate indicator when the content structure is unknown or the wait covers the whole interface.",
        "basis": "editorial"
      },
      {
        "target": "status-message",
        "kind": "composes_with",
        "condition": "Processing ends or fails",
        "reason": "An indeterminate indicator only shows that the process is ongoing; the result, error, or next step once it ends is left to a status message to report.",
        "basis": "editorial"
      }
    ],
    "rules": [
      {
        "when": "A reliable completed amount or total is not available",
        "instruction": "Do not show a fabricated percentage, and do not use a steady or accelerating animation that makes indeterminate progress look like it is being precisely measured.",
        "strength": "must",
        "basis": "editorial"
      },
      {
        "when": "Reduced motion is enabled",
        "instruction": "Downgrade the spinning or looping animation to a static but still recognizable \"processing\" style, and keep a text status that is independent of the animation.",
        "strength": "must",
        "basis": "editorial"
      },
      {
        "when": "The wait may exceed about 10 seconds",
        "instruction": "Add text guidance or a way to cancel so users can stay oriented, rather than relying on the looping animation alone.",
        "strength": "recommend",
        "basis": "editorial"
      }
    ],
    "requirements": [],
    "behavior": {
      "states": [
        "idle",
        "indeterminate",
        "success",
        "error"
      ],
      "a11y": [
        "The container is marked busy and provides a text status independent of the animation, so information does not depend on the visual animation alone",
        "Avoid having screen readers interrupted repeatedly and meaninglessly by the animation itself"
      ],
      "motion": "Loops a spinning or scrolling animation by default; switches to a static but still recognizable processing style when reduced motion is enabled"
    },
    "demo": null,
    "version": "0.1.0",
    "editorialStatus": "drafted",
    "demoCapabilities": [],
    "implementationNote": "This entry has no operable specimen yet; the illustration is an editorial sketch. When applied to a product, still verify: whether the looping animation downgrades to a static but recognizable state under reduced motion, whether a text or semantic status independent of the animation can be announced by screen readers, and whether waits beyond about 10 seconds are supplemented with guidance or a cancel option to keep users oriented.",
    "image": {
      "src": "/images/indeterminate-progress.webp",
      "alt": "On a fictional FIELDNOTES panel, a circular spinner and a looping indeterminate bar appear side by side showing no percentage number, with the content area beneath dimmed to signal waiting."
    },
    "searchTerms": [
      "加载中",
      "未知进度",
      "旋转图标",
      "循环动画",
      "不确定"
    ]
  }
}