Dialogs:Appearance

From KDE-HIG_Wiki

Dialog Appearance Basics

<todo> *The following is adopted from Gnome HIG - This is meant to give you an idea of what *should* be in here: ** 

Layout: A clean, logical dialog layout helps the user to quickly understand what information is required from them.

Arrange controls in your dialog in the direction that people read. In western locales, this is generally left-to-right, top-to-bottom. Position the main controls with which the user will interact as close to the upper left corner as possible. Follow similar guidelines for arranging controls within groups in the dialog, and for specifying the order in which controls are traversed using the Tab key.[GHIG]

When opening a dialog, provide initial keyboard focus to the component that you expect users to operate first. This focus is especially important for users who must use a keyboard to navigate your application.[GHIG]

Provide and show sensible default values for as many of the controls in your dialog as possible when it is opened, so the user does not have to generate the information from scratch. These defaults may come from system settings (for example, hostname or IP address), or from information that the user has previously entered in this or another application (for example, email address or network proxy).[GHIG]

Arranging Buttons

<todo> - Place buttons that apply to the dialog as a whole in the main button area row at the bottom of the dialog, in between OK and Cancel button. - Place buttons that apply to one or a few controls next to their associated controls. For instance, place a Browse... button at the trailing edge of the text field it fills in. </todo>

Combining Input Objects

<todo>

Create a rule for combining input objects in a dialog (e.g. managing filters, assignees, bookmarks). Required is a rule for all types of list/table selections in combination with data input. E.g. list with 'New'/'Duplicate'/'Remove' below the list and input fields to the right. Tables in combination with input types -> Should be organised in a similar manner as list plus input, but currently handled in a different way (table with input fields below -> see e.g. Attendees tab in 'New Event' in Kalendar)

</todo>