Expand Button (Common Desktop Environment: Style Guide and Certification Checklist)

Common Desktop Environment: Style Guide and Certification Checklist

Expand Button

The expand button is used to display the secondary pane. The expand button is a standard Motif drawn button with a label that changes depending on the state of the window. The button labels for the two states should tell the user what will happen. For example, the button might say Options when the window is closed and Basic when the window is open. Clicking the Options button displays the bottom pane; clicking the Basic button hides the bottom pane. Labels should be opposites such as Expand and Contract, More and Less, or Basic and Options.

Required

fv:

The expandable window should have one button that changes its label based on the state of the window.

Required

fw:

The expand button should have two labels that reflect the two states of the expandable window accurately. The current label should indicate to the user what will happen if the user clicks the button.

Examples of possible labels are Basic and Options, Expand and Contract, and More and Less.

Optional

fx:

The expand button may contain a graphic in addition to the label. This graphic should indicate the direction in which the window will expand or contract.