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Figure 14-27 Controls in bottom bars can contain system-provided or custom images

When necessary, create simple, clear custom images

As with toolbar items, every bottom-bar item should also be available as a menu command. Also, bottom bars should not contain contextual menus. If you need to offer a collection of commands that users can perform on a selected item in the window body, provide an Action menu control that displays the system-provided Action image (see “Action Menus” (page 284) for more information on this control).

To decide whether to use regular-size or small controls in a bottom bar, consider the prominence these controls should have and the overall look of your window.

Create a bottom bar by leaving a horizontal strip of the window frame visible below the window body content view. If you want to place regular-size controls in a bottom bar, leave a strip that is 32 pixels high; if you want to use small controls, leave a strip that is 22 pixels high. For guidelines that help you place text and controls in a bottom bar, see “Positioning Text and Controls in a Bottom Bar” (page 353).

Drawers

A drawer is a child window that slides out from a parent window and that the user can open or close (show or hide) while the parent window is open. A drawer should contain frequently accessed controls that don’t need to be visible at all times. For example, Figure 14-28 shows a drawer that provides details about slide builds in the Keynote Build inspector.

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Windows

Figure 14-28 An open drawer next to its parent window

When to Use Drawers

Use drawers only for controls that need to be accessed fairly frequently but that don’t need to be visible all the time. This is in contrast to the criterion for a panel, which should be visible and available whenever its main window is in the top layer. (For more information about panels, see “Panels” (page 222).)

Although a drawer is somewhat similar to a sheet in that it attaches to a window and slides out, the two elements are not interchangeable. Sheets are modal dialogs (as described in “When to Use Sheets” (page 232)), whereas drawers provide additional functionality. When a sheet is open, it is the focus of the window and it obscures the window contents; when a drawer is open, the entire parent window is still visible and accessible.

You should not use a drawer to provide users with a way to navigate hierarchically arranged content in your window. If you need to do this in your application, you should use a source list instead. See “Source Lists and Sidebars” (page 203) to learn more about source lists.

Drawer Behavior

The user shows or hides a drawer, typically by clicking a button or choosing a command. If a drawer contains a valid drop target, you may also want to open the drawer when the user drags an appropriate object to where the drawer appears.

When a drawer opens, it appears to be sliding from behind its parent window, to the left, right, or down. You should ensure that a parent window’s default position allows its drawer to open fully without disappearing offscreen. If a user moves a parent window to the edge of the screen and then opens a drawer, it should open on the side of the window that has room. If the user makes a window so big that there’s no room on either side, the drawer opens off the screen.

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2008-06-09 | © 1992, 2001-2003, 2008 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved.