Projects/Usability/HIG/GroupBox

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Purpose

A group box is a labeled rectangular area that surrounds a set of related controls. A frame (also known as panel) is an unlabeled rectangular area that can be used to mark relationship as well.

Both, group box and frame are a way to show relationships visually; it provides no additional functionality.

Example

Guidelines

Is this the right control

Always try to use a group box to arrange related controls.
Use a frame to arrange related controls that cannot be labeled.
Do not group single controls.
Consider to communicate relationship by layout only.

Behavior

Do not nest grouping elements; use layout to show relationships within a group.
Do not place controls in group box’ caption.
Do not disable groups. To indicate that a group of controls doesn't currently apply, disable all the controls within the group, but not the group itself.
Put a splitter between aligned grouping controls.

Appearance

Label the group box with a descriptive caption.
Do not assign an access key to the group box’ caption.
Set the group box or frame shadow to 'flat' to convey relationship. This provides the consistent spacing required to convey the relationship.

Implementation