User Interface Control Guidelines
The following table provides descriptions for user interface (UI) controls. Refer to the linked topics for guidelines and details for each UI control.
| UI control | Description |
|---|---|
| Check Boxes | Use a check box only when it provides choices that are opposite and unambiguous. Otherwise, use option buttons. |
| Combo Boxes
(PPC only) |
Use combo boxes in place of option buttons to conserve space or when the user needs to add entries to a list. |
| Command Buttons | The command button control causes an application to perform an action when the button is selected. On Windows Mobile-based Smartphone devices, only Microsoft Internet Explorer Mobile has command buttons. All other applications use soft keys. |
| Date Pickers | The date picker control provides a calendar display that enables a user to select a date and display it in a specified format. |
| Full Screen Multi-line Edit
(SP only) |
A full-screen multi-line edit (MLE) control is a special type of edit box used to conserve space. |
| Headers
(PPC only) |
A header control is used to display a heading above a list view that can also be used for sorting, folder picking, and other list-specific controls. |
| Horizontal Line Separator | Horizontal line separator elements visually group items on a screen or separate content areas of a screen. |
| Hyperlinks | When you use an HTML control to create a hyperlink, you can take advantage of other aspects of the HTML control such as background images. |
| List Boxes
(PPC only) |
Include a list box to display items a user can select. |
| List Views | A list view control is used to display items in a scrollable list. |
| Menus | Use menus to consolidate functionality. |
| Menu Bar Buttons
(PPC only) |
Frequently used actions can be taken out of menus and placed directly on the menu bar so that they are easily accessible. |
| Mnemonics | When you assign mnemonics to menu commands, use the first letter of the command name unless another letter provides a better mnemonic association. |
| Option Buttons
(PPC only) |
Use option buttons only when they provide mutually exclusive choices and when there are only a few choices. When there are many choices, use list boxes instead. |
| Pop-Up Menus
(PPC only) |
Pop-up menus provide an efficient way for the user to access the operations of objects. Whenever actions are available for a specific item, a pop-up menu should be available. |
| Progress Bars | A progress bar shows the percent completed for an operation or the percentage of a value. |
| Scroll Bars | A scroll bar allows users to view all information on a page, even when not all of the information appears on the screen at the same time. |
| Shortcut Keys
(PPC only) |
The functionality of the shortcut keys in your application should be consistent with shortcut keys in other applications to ensure a consistent user experience. |
| Sliders
(PPC only) |
A slider control is used to set or adjust values within a range. |
| Spin Boxes | Spin boxes conserve space and provide an alternative to list boxes and combo boxes. |
| Split Buttons
(PPC only) |
A split button is used to create a button with an attached menu with secondary functions and options. |
| Tabs
(PPC only) |
Use tabs in an application to group related information and functionality. |
| Text Boxes | The text box control provides basic user text input and editing support. |
| Text Headers
(PPC only) |
Use text headers to provide context for wizards, context for full-screen dialog boxes that contain settings or options, and instructions for picker dialog boxes. |
| Text Subheaders
(PPC only) |
To conserve space, use text subheaders instead of group boxes to visually group items on a screen. Also, use text subheaders to clarify application data and functionality. |
| Time Pickers | Time pickers enable users to set the time, including the hour, minutes, and AM or PM options. |
| ToolTips | A ToolTip is a small pop-up window that displays the name of a Microsoft Windows Powered Pocket PC menu bar button. |
| Tree Views | A tree view control is a special type of list box that displays the hierarchical relationship of items. |
| Upper case keyboard selection | On a QWERTY keyboard, you can allow the selection of upper case (capital) letters by a long press on the letter key, as well as by pressing Shift and then pressing the letter. Overriding keys in this manner must not affect any other key pressing requirements. |
See Also
Capitalization and Punctuation Guidelines
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