Common Desktop Environment: Style Guide and Certification Checklist

Tool Bar Components

A tool bar is typically constructed using the following Motif components.

Tool Bar Container

The tool bar uses a container component to provide a layout mechanism for the drawn buttons that make up a tool bar. You may choose most any container for the tool bar, as long as it allows for the specified behavior.

Required 

fh: 

The tool bar container is placed directly under the menu bar and should be the same width as the window, as well as similar height to the menu bar. 

Recommended 

fi: 

If you use a tool bar in your application, then you should provide a status line in the same primary window as the tool bar. 

This status line should provide immediate feedback to the user as to the purpose of the button that the mouse is currently over or that has the keyboard focus. When the arrow is over a tool bar icon, the status line should display a brief definition of what the icon represents or what will happen when the user clicks the icon. 

Recommended 

fj: 

You may provide labels under tool bar icons. These labels should serve to explain the purpose of the icon. 

Tool Bar Button

The Motif DrawnButton provides an appropriate medium for the graphic buttons in tool bars.

Recommended 

fk: 

Drawn buttons in the tool bar should be the same width and height. Similar or related items should be grouped, and groups should be evenly spaced across the tool bar. 

Pixmap

The pixmap for the drawn button is the graphic that conveys the functionality to be expected by pushing a particular button.

Recommended 

fl: 

All pixmaps in the tool bar should be the same size. 

This ensures that all the buttons will be the same size. 

Recommended 

fm: 

The recommended size of the pixmap is 24x24. The default for the drawn button is to resize itself according to the size of its label type, which, in this case, would be a pixmap.