Controlling Display and Appearance

For each toolbar in your application, the user should be able to choose whether or not to show that toolbar, and whether to show its contents as icons only, text only or both.

Guidelines

  • Allow the user to override the control center toolbar defaults for your particular application in the application's Preferences dialog. In particular, ensure that the user can:

    • separately choose to show each toolbar in your application as icons only, text only, or both
    • return the icon/text/both status for all toolbars in your applicaton to the system default
    • choose to show text labels either to the side of some or below all toolbar icons, and to return this setting to the system default
    • return the layout and ordering of all toolbars in your application to the application default

  • If your application has a single toolbar, allow the user to turn it on or off with a View ▸ Toolbar check box menu item.

  • If your application has two or three toolbars, allow the user to turn them on or off individually by placing a menu item for each one on the application's View menu. For example, Main Toolbar, Drawing Toolbar, Formatting Toolbar. Place the items together in a single group on the menu, with Main Toolbar first (if your application has one), followed by the others in alphabetical order.

  • If your application has more than three toolbars, allow the user to turn them on or off individually by placing a menu item for each one in a Toolbars sub-menu on the application's View menu. Place the Main Toolbar item first (if your application has one), followed by the others in alphabetical order.

    Figure 5-2 Example View menu fragments for applications with one toolbar (left), two or three toolbars (middle), or four or more toolbars (right)
Appearance and Content Labels and Tooltips