C H A P T E R 1 5
Controls
If your toolbar contains any control types other than the three listed above and rectangular-style and capsule-style toolbar controls, remove them.
If you used a metal (textured) button in your toolbar or bottom-bar area, examine its height. If the height is 23 pixels for the regular size (18 pixels for the small size), the button should automatically appear as a rectangular-style toolbar control when the application runs in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.
The Interface Builder library in Interface Builder 3.0 and later provides a style of an NSButton object called “textured,“ but this button style should be considered a transitional control only. If you place a regular-size textured button in a window-frame area and resize its height to 23 pixels (from the default height of 20 pixels), you’ll notice that its appearance changes to that of the rectangular-style toolbar control. Therefore, if you’re developing an application to run in both Mac OS X v10.5 and versions of Mac OS X prior to v10.5, you can use this button style to ensure the appropriate look for these versions.
Buttons
Buttons initiate an immediate action. If a button initiates an indeterminate process, the button should be dimmed until the process is complete, and status feedback should be provided.
If you need to offer two opposing functions, such as Reload and Stop in a browser, consider using two separate buttons instead of one dual-purpose button that changes state. Providing one dual-purpose button can lead to the situation in which a user clicks the button when it is in one state, but the click is received and processed after the button has changed to the other state.
If you must provide one dual-purpose button, be sure to keep track of when the button changes state so you can process the clicks appropriately. Also, be sure to provide immediate and informative feedback.
Important: The controls described in this section are suitable for use in the window body; they should not be used in the window-frame areas. The single exception is the icon button, which can also be used in a toolbar. See “Window-Frame Controls” (page 249) for controls designed specifically for use in the toolbar and bottom-bar areas in your window.
Push Buttons
A pushbuttonperformsaninstantaneousaction,suchassavingadocument,completingoperationsdefined by a dialog, or acknowledging an error message. Push buttons are designed for use in the window body only, not in the window-frame areas (for more information about these window parts, see “Window Elements” (page 190)). Figure 15-7 shows several different usages of the push button.
258 Buttons
2008-06-09 | © 1992, 2001-2003, 2008 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved.
C H A P T E R 1 5
Controls
Figure 15-7 Examples of push buttons in different types of windows
Push buttons
Push buttons
Push buttons
Push Button Usage
Because users expect an immediate action to occur when they press a push button, it is important to avoid using push buttons to merely display information or to mimic the behavior of other controls. In particular:
■Do not use a push button to indicate a state, such as on or off. Instead, you can use checkboxes to indicate state, as described in “Checkboxes” (page 275).
■Do not use a push button as a label. Instead, use static text to label elements and provide information in the interface (for more information, see “Static Text” (page 312)).
■Avoid associating a menu with a push button. If you need to associate a menu with a button, use a bevel button instead (see “Bevel Buttons” (page 269) to learn how to do this).
Buttons |
259 |
2008-06-09 | © 1992, 2001-2003, 2008 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved.
C H A P T E R 1 5
Controls
Push Button Contents and Labeling
A push button always contains text, it does not contain an image. If you need to display an icon or other image on a button, use instead a bevel button, described in “Bevel Buttons” (page 269).
The label on a push button should be a verb or verb phrase that describes the action it performs—Save, Close, Print, Delete, Change Password, and so on. If a push button acts on a single setting, label the button as specifically as possible; “Choose Picture…,” for example, is more helpful than “Choose…” Because buttons initiate an immediate action, it shouldn’t be necessary to use “now” (Scan Now, for example) in the label.
Push button labels should have title-style capitalization, as described in “Capitalization of Interface Element Labels and Text” (page 131). If the push button immediately opens another window, dialog, or application to perform its action, you can use an ellipsis in the label. For example, Mail preferences displays a push button that includes an ellipsis because it opens .Mac system preferences, as shown in Figure 15-8.
Figure 15-8 A push button label can include an ellipsis
Use an ellipsis in a button label when another window or dialog opens to complete the action
All push buttons should be clear in appearance, that is, without color, except the default button. The default button is the button that performs a safe action in a dialog and is activated when the user presses Return or Enter (for more information about the default button, see “Dismissing Dialogs” (page 236)). When the user presses a nondefault button, such as Cancel, that button acquires color and the default button loses its color. If you use system-provided push buttons, this behavior is automatic.
260 Buttons
2008-06-09 | © 1992, 2001-2003, 2008 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved.