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Icon Style Guide |
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Toolbar
The classic toolbar is a buttonbar. KDE toolbars can also contain other widgets, e. g., labels, line edits, combo boxes, and frames (which can contain everything else!).
The tool bar offers a quick way to invoke actions that are used frequently. Remember: all actions should be accessible through the menu bar - don't have an action in the toolbar that isn't also in the menubar!
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The KAction class offers an easy way to ensure consistency between the menubar and the toolbar. |
Toolbars are useful for giving users immediate access to the most frequently used commands. Applications that are not primarily editors do not need to include print, cut, copy, paste, etc. You want to have seven or less items in the toolbar if possible. Here are some common actions:
- New
- Open
- Save
- Print Preview
- Undo
- Redo
- Cut
- Copy
- Paste
- Find
- Zoom
- Previous Page/Back
- Next Page/Forward
- Go To Page/Home
- Help
The icons designed for the standard buttons should never be used for any other purpose.
The order given here is the default order. Your application may allow users to configure the buttonbar as they wish. By default, your application should put the items in the same order as they appear in the menus.
Your application may also offer additional options in the buttonbar.
The help button should offer context-sensitive help when available. When available, the help button should be the last item in the toolbar and aligned to the left.(Not to the right!)
You may choose to have more than one buttonbar. For example, you might offer drawing tools or a palette on other toolbars. Users may then position them as they wish (to the side or bottom of the document) or tear them off and resize them to form a button box. However, be careful not to split toolbars up unnecessarily and arbitrarily. In particular, don't split the standard menu entry actions across more than one toolbar.
Insert separators in the same places as in the menus and also between buttons for actions from different menus.
You can put anything you like in a toolbar. The label, line edit and combo box widgets probably appear most regularly. For example, a label and a line edit are often put together to make a browser location bar, and a combo box is often used to list available font sizes.
But remember here as well: don't have actions in the toolbar that do not exist in the menu bar!
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