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List:       kde-look
Subject:    Re: Radio button group highlighting (was: UI feedback from a Linux
From:       Dave Leigh <dave.leigh () cratchit ! org>
Date:       2000-04-19 22:07:49
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Dirk Hennig wrote:

> I drawed my idea of making some kind of slider and attached it to this mail. The \
> look may not be cool at the moment, but what do you think of the general idea?

I think your slider idea has a lot going for it... it's immediately understandable, \
it models real-world objects, and it looks cool.

Off the top of my head, I can only think of two things against it.  The first is \
minor:  a radio button visually tells the user that all he has to do is click on an \
option to select it, just like the buttons on a car radio.  The slider suggests that \
the user should click on the thumb and drag it to the new option, which is slightly \
more difficult.  Of course, it should allow you to click on the option as well, but \
it's not obvious that this can be done.

The second is less minor:  Radio buttons can be grouped horizontally, vertically, or \
in rows and columns.  I might have a group of options 3 columns wide and 6 rows high \
if I wanted, grouped together (although I'd try my best to avoid it or use a \
different control, like a listbox).  I'm not sure how this would be visually \
represented in an unconfusing manner.  You could, of course, simply ban such \
arrangements and decree that a drop-down list or listbox should be used.



--
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    http://www.cratchit.org/dleigh


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