Controls & Widgets
Overview
General controls & widgets
Switch
Digital only
Button
Dial
Latch
Slider
Handle
Physical only
Jog dial
Joystick
Track ball
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
Some common controls are only found in
the physical world:
• 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
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:
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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