C H A P T E R 7

Controls

The Scrolling List

The user opens the list by pressing or clicking the arrows to the right of the text field. The list is a window that descends from the text field; the window is the same width as the text field and has a drop shadow. Don’t extend the right edge of the list beyond the right edge of the arrow box; if an item is too long, it gets truncated.

When the user selects an item in the list, the item replaces whatever is in the text entry field and the list closes. If the user presses the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key to move through the items, the selected item is highlighted and appears in the text entry field. The user can accept an item by pressing the Space bar, Enter, or Return.

If the list is open and the user clicks outside it, including within the text entry field, the list closes.

Placards

A placard is a control you can use to display information, such as the current page number. You can also use a placard to create the striped background behind other controls.

Typically placards are used in document windows as a way to quickly modify the view of the contents—for example, to change the current page or the magnification. The most familiar use of the placard is as a pop-up menu placed at the bottom of a window to the left of the horizontal scroll bar. You can extend the functionality of a placard by, for example, having it provide a pop-up menu so that users can choose from pre-defined options.

Figure 7-13 A placard pop-up menu

130Control Behavior and Appearance

Apple Computer, Inc. June 2002