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| __NOTOC__
| | {{ Moved To Community | KDE_Visual_Design_Group/HIG/DropDown }} |
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| == Purpose ==
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| A ''drop-down list'' is a GUI control which allows the user to choose one value from a list. When a drop-down list is inactive, it displays a single value. When activated, it displays (drops down) a list of values, from which the user may select one. When the user selects a new value, the control reverts to its inactive state, displaying the selected value. A drop-down list works similar to a list box but hides the complete list until the user initiate the drop down. The disadvantage of drop-down lists compared to related controls like radio buttons or lists is that the options are not visible without further interaction.
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| The list provides auto-complete feature for the whole string, independently of the "editable" property. Given the items of "bike", "boat", and "car":
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| *If one types "b", the list selects "bike".
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| *If one (rapidly) types "bo", it selects "boat".
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| *If one types "c", it selects "car".
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| One can repeatedly type a letter to cycle through items of the (read-only) drop-down list starting with this letter.
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| == Guidelines ==
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| === Is this the right control ===
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| * Use a drop-down list for single selection of one out of many items. If users should be able to add items use a [[Projects/Usability/HIG/Combo_Box| combo box]].
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| * For only a few options, consider to use a set of [[Projects/Usability/HIG/Radio_Buttons|radio buttons]].
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| * For a single selection out of a large number of items (n>20), use a [[Projects/Usability/HIG/ListView| list view]].
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| * Prefer controls that show the options without further user interaction, except for the following cases:
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| ** the list of options may change over time,
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| ** the contents are obvious from the label and the one selected item, for example ''Month'' and ''January''
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| ** the control is part of a related sequence of controls. For example, to set a reminder to ring 5 hours or minutes before or after an event.
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| === Behavior ===
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| * Show a maximum of eight items at once (maxVisibleItems=8).
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| * When possible apply changes immediately but do not initiate an action (like print, send, delete) when the user selects an item from a drop-down list.
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| * Do not add controls to the drop-down (e.g. check boxes for each item).
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| * Place options that represent general options (e.g. all, none) at the beginning of the list.
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| * Sort list items in a logical order. Make sure sorting fits translation.
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| * Make sure the items are easily accessible via keyboard by moving distinctive letters to the beginning of each option. For example, in a list of countries on continents, write "Germany (Europe)" instead of "Europe/Germany".
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| * Do not have blank list items; use meta-options, e.g. (None) instead
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| === Appearance ===
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| * If activating a choice affects the appearance or the enabled state of other controls, place them next to the drop down.
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| * If certain controls in a configuration dialog are only relevant if a certain item is selected (i.e. they are dependent controls), disable them instead of hiding.
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| * Label the drop down with a descriptive caption to the left (cf. [[Projects/Usability/HIG/Alignment| alignment]]).
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| * Create a buddy relation so access keys are assigned.
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| * Do not use ending punctuation (neither dot nor colon) for caption.
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| * Use [[Projects/Usability/HIG/Capitalization|sentence style capitalization]] for items.
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| == Implementation ==
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| [[Category:Usability]][[Category:Behavior]][[Category:Editing_and_Manipulation]][[Category:Selection]]
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