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Controls
Scope Button Contents and Labeling
Typically, round rectangle and recessed scope buttons contain text, but they can instead contain images. If you want to display an image in a scope button, be sure to consider the system-provided images before you spend time designing your own. If you decide to design a custom icon for use in a scope button, see “Designing Icons for Rectangular-Style Toolbar Controls” (page 150) for some guidelines.
Scope Button Specifications
Control sizes: The round rectangle scope button is available in regular, small, and mini sizes. The height of the control is fixed for each size, but you set the width.
Label spacing and fonts: If you choose to use text to label scope buttons, use the view font (12-point Lucida Grande). Use the view font in bold for recessed scope buttons and the regular view font for round rectangle scope buttons.
Scope Button Implementation
Scope buttons are available in Interface Builder. You can also use Application Kit programming interfaces to create them. To create a recessed scope button, use the setBezelStyle: method of NSButtonCell with NSRecessedBezelStyle as the argument. To create a round rectangle scope button, pass
NSRoundRectBezelStyle as the argument to the setBezelStyle: method.
Gradient Buttons
A gradient button performs an instantaneous action related to a view, such as a source list. For example, in Keyboard & Mouse preferences (shown in Figure 15-14), gradient buttons allow the user to add and remove keyboard shortcuts for specific applications.
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Controls
Figure 15-14 Gradient buttons used to add and remove items in a list
Gradient buttons 
Gradient Button Usage
Use a gradient button when you need to offer functionality that is directly related to a source list or other view, such as a column view. Gradient buttons can have push-button, toggle, and pop-up menu behavior. For example, Mail uses gradient buttons at the bottom of the sidebar to offer New Mailbox, Show/Hide Mail Activity, and Action menu functionality, as shown in Figure 15-15.
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C H A P T E R 1 5
Controls
Figure 15-15 Gradient buttons can behave in different ways
Gradient buttons with toggle and pop-up menu behavior
Gradient buttons do not belong in the window-frame areas. If you need to offer an Action menu or other functionality in a bottom bar, use a rectangular-style toolbar control instead (see “Rectangular-Style Toolbar Controls” (page 250) for more information).
Gradient Button Contents and Labeling
Gradient buttons should contain images; they should not contain text. Because the function of a gradient button is closely tied to the view with which it’s associated, there’s little need to describe its action using a label.
When possible, you should use the system-provided images, such as the Action menu image and the Add image, because their meaning is familiar to users. You should create a custom image only when none of the system-provided images is suitable. See “System-Provided Images” (page 151) for more information on the system-provided images available to you. If you decide to create your own icons to use in a gradient button, see “Designing Icons for Rectangular-Style Toolbar Controls” (page 150) for some guidelines on how to do this.
Gradient Button Specifications
Control sizes: Gradient buttons are available in regular size only.
Control spacing: Although you can use a single gradient button by itself, it is more common for multiple gradient buttons to be displayed in a row. If you display more than one gradient button in a row, such as below a source list or other view, the buttons should abut each other. If the gradient buttons are not attached to a source list or other view within a window, leave 12 pixels between the bottom edge of the source list (or other view) and the gradient buttons associated with it.
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2008-06-09 | © 1992, 2001-2003, 2008 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved.