Projects/Usability/HIG/StatusBar

Purpose

A status bar is an area at the bottom of a primary window that displays information about the current window's state, background tasks, or other contextual information. The status bar ‘frames’ the form and, thereby, has a white-space function which is part of the operating system or desktop environment branding. Because secondary forms like dialog boxes must not use a status bar it denotes a form as primary window too.

KDE applications should not use a conventional status bar by default to maximize the space for content .

Guidelines

Is this the right control

• Omit the status bar in the main window to maximize vertical space for content.
  • Do not show meaningless information like 'Ready'.
  • Use a floating panel or tool-tips for short-term status information like full length text of links.
  • Move controls to the toolbar.
• Do not display a status bar in secondary or internal windows.
• If a status bar is really necessary in your application consider to use a toolbar with all customization features.

Behavior

• Do not use the status bars or any kind of replacement for crucial information. Users should never have to know what is in the status bar.
• Do not use the status bar or any kind of replacement to display advisory messages in place of standard tool-tips.
• Keep the status information plain; e.g. do not add icons.

References

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