C H A P T E R 1 5
Controls
Separator Specifications
Control sizes: Separators are available in a single thickness, but you determine their length. Figure 15-89 shows a vertical and a horizontal separator.
Figure 15-89 Separators
Labelspacingandfonts: Separator labels should be in a font that corresponds to the controls in the window. Specifically, separator labels should use:
■System font, when other controls are regular size.
■Small system font, when other controls are small.
■Mini system font, when other controls are mini.
Separator labels should be 2 pixels from the beginning of the separator control.
Control spacing: Separators should be at least 10 pixels away from other controls. Both ends of a separator should be an equal distance from the window edges. If you use more than one separator in a window, be sure every separator with the same orientation (vertical or horizontal) is the same length.
Separator Implementation
Separators are available in Interface Builder. To create one using Application Kit programming interfaces, use the NSBox class.
Group Boxes
A group box, like a separator (described in “Separators” (page 332)), is used to break a window into distinct logical areas. A group box has a heavier look than a separator, which means that it provides a more pronounced differentiation of content. For example, the Expose pane in Expose & Spaces preferences uses group boxes to separate screen-corner functionality from keyboard and mouse shortcuts, as shown in Figure 15-90.
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2008-06-09 | © 1992, 2001-2003, 2008 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved.
C H A P T E R 1 5
Controls
Figure 15-90 Group boxes can organize controls in a window
Group box
Group box
Group Box Usage
Use a group box when you want users to understand logical groupings of controls in a window. You can use group boxes in the window-body area, including within tab-view panes.
Although group boxes are very useful for separating logical collections of content, avoid nesting them when possible; nested group boxes use a lot of space, and it can be difficult to perceive individual boundaries when group boxes are nested too deeply. Instead, consider using a separator or white space to group content within a group box. (See “Separators” (page 332) for more information on using separators; see “Grouping With White Space” (page 349) for guidance on using white space.) Strive to place roughly equal numbers of controls in each group box in a window, to create a visually balanced appearance.
Group Box Contents and Labeling
Group boxes can be untitled or titled. If titled, they may have text-only titles, checkbox titles, or pop-up menu titles. If the group box uses a checkbox title, the items in the group box should be active only when the checkbox is selected.
Group box titles should have sentence-style capitalization. See “Capitalization of Interface Element Labels and Text” (page 131) for more information on this style.
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2008-06-09 | © 1992, 2001-2003, 2008 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved.
C H A P T E R 1 5
Controls
Group Box Specifications
Control sizes: There are no standard sizes for group boxes; you control the size of the boundaries based on the needs of your window. As you place a group box in your window, be sure to follow the spacing recommendations described below.
Label spacing and fonts: Group box titles can use different font sizes, depending on the size of the rest of the controls and text in your window:
■Regular size: System font
■Small: Small system font
■Mini: Mini system font
Control spacing: Leave at least 20 pixels from the edge of the group box to the edge of the window. Nesting group boxes isn’t recommended, because it wastes space. However, if you decide to nest group boxes, see “A Changeable Pane Dialog” (page 340) for some spacing guidelines.
Group Box Implementation
Group boxes are available in Interface Builder. To create one using Application Kit programming interfaces, use the NSBox class.
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2008-06-09 | © 1992, 2001-2003, 2008 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved.