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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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