Controls & Widgets

Overview General controls & widgets Switch Button Dial Latch Slider Handle Physical only Jog dial Joystick Track ball Digital only Checkbox Radio Buttons Twist Scrollbar DropDowns Multiple Select List Text Box Spin Box

Controls & widgets Most applications & devices that ixd people work on have some sort of visible controls for the user to manipulate the features of the product Controls provide both the affordances needed to understand what the product is capable of and the power to realise that capability

Switch A toggle switch is a very simple control. Moves from one setting (on) to another (off) and stays there until changed

Button Most commonly used control in interfaces How many can you find in Word? ( 30 at any one time A button is am item that is pressed, or clicked to activate it. Can be used for a wide variety of actions: changing modes, moving an item or a cursor Can take may forms: tiny icons to physical squares on a floor that can be stepped on. Good for only simple actions

Dial A dial provides more control than a button allowing the user to select a setting along a continuum or to choose between different settings or modes Can more freely or simply turn from an established point to other established points on a wheel Some pushed or pulled

Latch A latch opens an other wise tightly closed area Useful for keeping some areas or items hidden or sage until needed Used on handheld devices to keep the battery compartment safe

Slider Used for subtle control of a feauter of the to control output such as speaker volume. Can be used to set a range within a range

Handle A handle is a protruding part of an object that allows it to be moved or in some cases resized. Commonly occur on the frames of ost digital windows to enable resizing or movement around screen

Physical only controls Jog dial is a dial that can be manipulated with a single finger, usually a thumb. –Can be dial like or a pad of buttons –Difficult to control for young children and the elderly Some common controls are only found in the physical world:

Physical only controls Joy stick is a physical device typically used in digital gaming or in other applications that require rapid movements and intensive manipulation of remote physical or digital objects Can move in any direction nor can be constrained to move only left or right or only up and down.

Physical only controls A Track ball is a physical device for manipulating a cursor or other digital or physical objects Typically in a stationary based - ball moves in any direction

Digital only controls Some controls are unique to screen based devices Grown from the original GUIs developed in 80’s Extended during the 90’s with web interfaces Include: –Checkbox –Radio Buttons –Twist –Scrollbar –DropDowns –Multiple Select –List –Text Box –Spin Box

Digital only controls Checkbox: enables users to select items from a short list Radio button: enables users to choose a singe item from a selection –Used to constrain selections when only one answer is allowed Twists turn up or down either revealing or hiding content or a menu in a panel Scrollbars enable users to move content within a particular window or panel. –Can be vertical or horizontal –Can be manipulated via the cursor of buttons (arrow keys) –Horizontal scrollbars are difficult to manipulate

Digital only controls Dropdown menus allow designers to cluster navigation, functionality or content together without having to display it all at once –Can be displayed by rollover or with a click –Can retract after a selection has been made or cursor rolls off them Multiple selection lists enable used to select multiple items in a list Text boxes enable users to enter numbers, letters or symbols. They can be as small as a single character or as large as a whole screen Spin boxes are text boxes with additional controls that enable users to manipulate what is inside the text box without having to type a value –Good for suggesting values in what might otherwise be an ambiguous text box.

Widgets Widgets are the combination of controls plus a system response. What widgets make up your MP3 player?

MP3 Player widgets An MP3 player is made of widgets: –one for controlling volume, –one for controlling the playing of music files –one for organising files, –one for exploring files etc In each case the user uses controls to perform an action and the system responds. All applications and devices are made up of widgets