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Motif and CDE 2.1 Style Guide Reference

Selection Box (Control)

Reference

Description

A selection box is a combination text-list control in which both the text field and the list box are visible at all times. A selection box also contains labels associated with the text field and the list box.

Figure 58. Selection Box.




View figure.

When to Use

Recommended
Provide a selection box to allow users to make selections from a list of items.

Guidelines

Required
When the user selects an item from the list, place the item in the text-entry field.

Recommended
Place a label above both the text-entry field and the list.

Recommended
When the user types an item into the text-entry field, display that item in the list box. If the item is not in the list, scroll the list box to the item that most closely matches the entry in the text-entry field. Use the best prefix match unless there is a better match. For example, if the user types in "Accounting" and there is no match in the list, scroll the list to "Accounts Payable" rather than "Accumulators."

Required
Allow the user to navigate within the list with Page Up and Page Down while the cursor is in the text-entry field.

Required
Provide an OK push button to allow the user to accept any changes that have been made in the window and to remove the window.

Required
Provide a Cancel push button to allow the user to remove the window without applying any changes that were not previously applied in that window.

Required
Provide a Help push button to allow the user to display a window that contains context-sensitive help information.

Optional
Provide an Apply push button to allow the user to apply changes made by properties choices without removing the selection box.

Required
Use either the single or browse selection model in the list box.

Essential Related Topics

For more information, see the Active Window, Combination Text-List Control (Control Type), and Secondary Window reference pages.

Supplemental Related Topics

For more information, see the Push Button (Predefined) and Text-Entry Field (Control) reference pages.

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