Toolbar

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File:Barre d'outils flottante.PNG
OpenOffice.org its toolbars to be detached and moved between windows and other toolbars

In computer interface design, a toolbar (previously known as ribbon[1][2]) is a graphical control element on which on-screen buttons, icons, menus, or other input or output elements are placed. Toolbars are seen in many types of software such as office suites, graphics editors and web browsers. Toolbars are usually distinguished from palettes by their integration into the edges of the screen or larger windows, which results in wasted space if too many underpopulated bars are stacked atop each other (especially horizontal bars on a landscape oriented display) or interface inefficiency if overloaded bars are placed on small windows.

Unscrupulous companies use software bundling to force users downloading one program to also install a browser toolbar, some of which invade the user's privacy by tracking their web history and search history online. Many antivirus companies refer to these programs as grayware or Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs).[3][4][5][6]

Variants and derivatives

There several user interface elements derived from toolbars:

  • Address bar, location bar or URL bar is a toolbar that mainly consists of a text box. it accepts uniform resource locators (URLs) or file system addresses. They are found in web browsers and file managers.
  • Breadcrumb or breadcrumb trail allows users to keep track of their locations within programs or documents. They are toolbars whose contents dynamically change to indicate the navigation path.
  • Ribbon was the original name for toolbar, but is re-purposed to refer to a complex user interface which consists of toolbars on tabs.
  • Taskbar the name of a toolbar provided by an operating system to launch, monitor and manipulate software. A taskbar may hold other sub-toolbars.

A search box is not ipso facto a toolbar but may appear on a toolbar, as is the case with the address bar.

References

  1. The 1996 Oxford Dictionary of Computing describes the term "ribbon" in user interface design as "...a horizontal row of control icons that can often be redefined to suit the user's requirements."- what is currently more commonly referred to as "toolbar". Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links

Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons


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