[kde-guidelines] Styleguide: Buttons

[Heiko Tietze]

Am Sonntag, 22. September 2013, 15:32:23 schrieb Thomas Pfeiffer:
> > Buttons are graphical controls that provides the user a simple way to
> > ...
> Do we need that detailed description of the appearance? If people use the
> correct widget, all that comes automatically...
Okay, stripped down.

> > ** Clicking the button will drop down the menu only.
> 
> I do not get the distinction between "a group of actions" and "a small set
> of related functions" here. What's the difference between the two?
It would be a strange layout to place a couple of buttons against each other. 
Actually, users are hindered to find the right control. (In case of toolbar 
buttons we have icons to faciliate perception.) Therfore one should not use 
more than about 3 command buttons at once. For example imagine a dialog with 
'Abort', 'Save', 'Don't save' (and exit), and 'Continue editing' (and save 
first). 
For menu buttons its okay to have more features but it makes no sense to 
clutter the menu. A 'small set of' sounds like a good term to describe about 
10 or less items.
 
> > * Prefer using icons on buttons only for OK, Apply or Cancel like actions.
> > Passive actions like those in the "System Settings => Application
> > Appearance => Fonts" do not have icons.
> 
> Except in toolbars if they are configured to show icons.
I think it's better to add the recommendation 'always use icons on toolbar 
buttons' at the respective page. We will come to the question whether or not 
the toolbar may contain of passive functions at all.