A progress indicator or progress control shows a percentage of completion for lengthy operations. The progress indicator, shown in Figure 1-35, is a
rectangular control that fills from left to right. When the indicator is half full, the project is 50 percent complete, and when the control is filled, the project is finished.
Figure 1-35 Progress control
Go!
Keyword
---Go!
A progress indicator can be included in a message box or status bar depending on the mode (modal or background) of the task it represents. The control provides feedback to the user about the status of long operations or background tasks, such as background printing.
Tooltip
A tooltip is a small rectangular pop-up window, shown in Figure 1-36, that includes descriptive text. Applications can use tooltips as a form of help for the user when the pointer is placed over another control, such as a toolbar button.
Figure 1-36 Tooltip control
The tooltip control is most commonly used with toolbars. However, it can be used for other controls on secondary windows. The tooltip is normally displayed at the lower right of the pointer, although this location is automatically adjusted if it does not fit on the screen.
Toolbars and Status Bars
Toolbars and status bars are useful for providing shortcuts to commands and feedback to the user. A toolbar is a panel that contains a set of controls (usually buttons, but other controls can be included). Figure 1-37 shows examples of different types of toolbars. Ribbons, tool boxes, and palettes are also types of toolbars.
Figure 1-37 Example toolbars
A status bar is a special area within a window, usually at the bottom of the window, that displays information about the current state of what is being viewed in the window or other information, such as menu item help as the user scrolls through the menu. Descriptive text about toolbar items can also be displayed similarly to the way it appears in menu item descriptions. Figure 1-38 shows a variety of status bars.
Figure 1-38 Status bars
All controls included in toolbars and status bars that do not include label text should include tooltips. Toolbars and status bars should also be designed to provide the user with the option to display or hide toolbars and status bars.
Additionally, applications can include the ability to arrange elements in status bars and toolbars.
Applications should include support for the user to change the size of the toolbar buttons to 24×22 and 32×30 pixels through a property sheet accessible from the toolbar pop-up menu. For this support, applications should design
graphic images to be 16×16 and 24×24 pixels, respectively. Table 1-7 shows the standard toolbar icons that should be used for common commands.
Table 1-7 Common toolbar buttons
16×16 24×24 Meaning
New Open Save Print
Print Preview Undo
Redo Cut Copy Paste Delete Find Replace Properties Bold Italic Underline
What’s This? (context-sensitive Help mode)
Show Help Topics Open parent folder View as large icons View as small icons View as list
View as details Region selection tool Writing tool (pen) Eraser tool (pen)
To avoid confusion and create a common look and feel between applications, use these images only for the function described. When designing new images, follow the conventions supported by the standard system controls.
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Windows NT Win32 API SuperBible
(Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing) Author(s): Richard Simon
ISBN: 1571690891 Publication Date: 03/01/98
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Visual Design
Users interact with a Windows application via its visual design. The goal of the Windows operating system is to have all applications interact with the user in a similar if not identical manner. If an application follows the design
guidelines for a Windows application, its users will be able to focus on the functionality of the application without relearning the user interface for each individual application.
If all applications used the basic controls the system provides in the
appropriate manner described earlier in this chapter, this section would not be necessary. However, most applications have some type of user interface feature that is not covered by the basic controls. This is where visual design is important. When designing a unique control or interface for use in an
application, these guidelines should be followed so the look and feel of the application will fit within the Windows standard.
It is important to remember when designing custom user interface controls that a graphical user interface needs to be intuitive—the user interface needs to be representative of the operation it performs and not hide functionality that is not standard within Windows.
Border Styles
Almost every window or control has a border that outlines it. There are
standards on how these borders appear, based on the type of window or control and its state. Applications can retrieve the colors referenced in this section with the GetSysColor function. See Chapter 21, System Information, for more information.