Actions and Commands

Mithat Konar (ed.)

2011–10–11

Actions and Commands

Actions and Commands

Classic GUI widgets

Classic GUI actions

Patterns using classic GUI widgets

Button groups

Related actions presented as a small cluster of buttons, aligned and with similar graphic treatments.

Button Groups

Action Panel

A group of related actions on a UI panel that’s richly organized and always visible.

Action Panel

Action Panel

Action Panel

Hover Tools

Place buttons and other actions next to the items they act upon, but hide them until the user hovers the pointer over them.

Prominent “Done” Button

A big and well labeled button that finishes a transaction at the end of the visual flow.

Prominent “Done” Button


Smart Menu Items

Change menu labels dynamically to show precisely what they will do when invoked.

Preview

Show users a preview or summary of what will happen when they perform an action.

Preview

Preview

Progress Indicator

Show the user how much progress has been made so far on a time-consuming operation.

Progress Indicator


Progress Indicator

Variant: throbber

Cancelability

Provide a way to instantly cancel a time-consuming operation, with no side effects.

Cancelability

Undo

Provide a way to easily reverse a series of actions performed by the user.

Undo

Command History

Keep a visible record of the actions a user performs—what was done to what, and when.

Macros

Read about macros in the textbook.

Additional images