GUI Design - ComboBoxes Versus Lists or RadioButtons

Question

When should some GUI elements be used over others? For example, how do you choose ComboBox, RadioButtons or Listbox? For example, I saw that ComboBoxes is used for two whole elements and radio buttons for two elements, as well as in the same panel. How do you maintain a consistent, intuitive GUI that doesn't confuse the user?

Answer 1

From what I remember in MS design guides, you should use radio buttons for four items, and then a combo box. One consideration is that combined fields hide potential data, while radio buttons always show all the parameters. The disadvantage with the switches is that they take up a lot of space. List of boxes? I never use them. Logically, they do not differ from the selection or layout switches, so you can use the radio buttons.

In fact, there is a wonderful book that addresses issues like yours. He is currently in 2nd edition

A convenient link for MS UI recommendations on one page . In fact, this does not concern your question directly, but a convenient link. Here is the link associated with the radio button .

Answer 2

Radio buttons are often used when one choice is mutually exclusive for others. For example, if you have a set of colors and only one of them is allowed immediately, you will use the switches.

Combobox supports this single select style, but they also allow more than one selection at a time using ctrl + click.

The lists with the list are mutually exclusive, but are more compact than the switches after selection.

For GUI consistency, try following the GUI rules for your platform (Windows, Mac, etc.)

Happy coding,

Scott

Answer 3

If only one item can be selected at a time, I would use radio buttons with up to three parameters. For four or more, I would go with a combo box. If several elements can be selected or if the user selects other elements in the list, I would switch to the list window (space resolution) to minimize the number of clicks required.

The Windows User Interaction Guide contains some information about the various controls , where the detailed page for each control contains the section “Is this the right control?”. (which suggests using switches for 7 options).

Answer 4

There is no one rule. Sometimes it depends on what is best for the design. Of course, there are some recommendations on common sense - you do not want to use 100 switches, and there is no point in having a drop-down list with two or three elements.

Basically, you want to hide as little information as possible. If there are two options, including them in the combo box hides unselected options. OTOH, if you have a lot of radio objects, they take up so much space that you show less than other controls or other data.

As with most user interface questions, you need to answer the question "what makes the program easier to use?" not "what rule should I follow in this case?". Of course, the fact that you asked a question means that you are trying to find out what makes the programs more convenient to use. Think about what you think makes it easier to use the program, and then let a small portion of people use it and get their feedback.

Answer 5

Radio buttons against combo box (jump list mode)
As already mentioned, usually if your choices are more than 3 or 4 elements, use the combo box. However, there are exceptions, because with the radio button all the parameters are displayed simultaneously. Another important consideration in this comparison is the dynamism of options. If there is a fixed number of options, then they tend to switch (in accordance with other recommendations). For a dynamic list of elements, it is much easier to implement it as a combined field, since there is no need for layout / design of the GUI when you want to add or remove an option. I believe that this is also more intuitive for the user, since the additional parameter should belong to the "group" represented in the combo box. You just need to make sure that the new element belongs to the group - I saw elements with a list that completely violated this rule, and the resulting interface is almost impossible to analyze for a new user.

Listbox
This is a much more complex control than switches or a combo box, and IMO is not directly interchangeable with any of these controls. There must be a good reason: (a) to display several options and / or (b) to use the multiple selection function - and all that should happen where it is impossible to use a series of radio buttons or a combined field. As a rule, I will use ListView mode for the list of objects in verbose mode, but as the dominant part of the user interface. Radio buttons, combo boxes and lists usually support user interface elements.