Quote:
Originally Posted by hubblec4
Do you think an extra button would be better?
Maybe is a "small star" placed to button caption enough to signal for an extra option. Button: Apply*
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An extra button would serve the purpose, but perhaps a more appropriate one could be potentially available. For example, in Windows 7's Windows Explorer itself, there are
single buttons which can contain both the text label and a small black down arrow/triangle (perhaps implying a drop-down menu).
Open Windows Explorer. Left-click the C drive at the left navigation pane (tree view). Below the address bar is the File Menu bar, then another bar (which is not existent in Windows XP's own Windows Explorer). At the far, rightmost, it should now contain the
Change View icon (but no text label, just the icon) which apparently has dual functionality.
Left-clicking the icon will toggle the File pane (the right pane) view from say Extra large icons, to Large icons, to Details, etc. When the mouse hovers to this part of the icon, the ToolTip is "
Change your view."
Now the right part of this same button is the small black down arrow/triangle. When the mouse is hovered, the ToolTip is "
More options". Left-clicking it will open up a slider.
This button is apparently a single unit but have dual functionality (though NOT a right-click one which we have in cE's Apply). The User will never mistook the button as a one-function button because of its accompanying small black down arrow/triangle.
Maybe there is a close counterpart in Lazarus, especially in the newer/latest versions? Though an entirely different thing, I remember combo boxes (well, correct me if I'm wrong here), which is a single unit or say object that have
both an input field and a drop-down menu.
And speaking of ToolTip... why does cE not have such in it? The ToolTip could potentially also inform the User about the hidden right-click list. Does Lazarus support the putting of ToolTips? Well, part of me says, it is just not yet implemented for now.
Anyway, I think your idea of
Apply* would be enough for now. Quick and easy to implement. Yeah, the asterisk sign (*) is a safe choice for now because it is found in all keyboards after all. I bet the asterisk sign would make the other Users curious about the button.