Direct manipulation is a style of Human Machine Interaction (HMI) design which features a natural representation of task objects and actions promoting the notion of people performing a task themselves (directly) not through an intermediary like a computer. Virtual Reality can be viewed as a field which can draw upon the principles of direct manipulation for Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) design or as an example or extension of direct manipulation itself. In VR, not only can task objects and actions be naturally represented, the task environment can be naturally represented as well. With either view, an understanding of direct manipulation principles is essential for the successful design of human computer interfaces in virtual environments. The remainder of this article will discuss the characteristics and benefits of direct manipulation along with its relation to virtual environments and the foundation areas of computer science.

        A direct manipulation interface allows a user to directly act on a set of objects (instruments) in the interface. – The instruments are indistinguishable visually from the objects they represent. – The actions on instrument/object entities are analogous to actions on similar objects in the real world. – The actions on instrument/object entities preserve the conceptual linkage between instrument and object.

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Example to elucidate direct manipulation principles in contrast with the intermediary style of interaction (eg. traditional keyboard based, command driven interfaces), is travel in a car.