Sidebar (computing)

The sidebar is a graphical control element that displays various forms of information to the right or left side of an application or desktop user interface. Status lines are similar elements displaying data on top or bottom edges.

Widgets in sidebars

In a number of Widget engines, one is able to install applets (known by various trademarked terms as "widgets", "desklets", and "gadgets") which can reside within or outside the sidebar. Notable examples include:

Windows Sidebar, made by Microsoft available on Windows Vista only
Sidebar, included in Google Desktop
Klipfolio
Desktop Sidebar
Thoosje Vista Sidebar

Application window sidebars

In specific desktop applications, such as the Opera web browser, OpenOffice.org, SoftMaker Presentations and Windows Explorer, one is able to view various features (that are allowed by the developer(s) of the application) within the sidebar of the application.

Mac OS X

A screenshot of HandBrake depicting a drawer opened on the right

Early versions of Mac OS X's Aqua UI supported a sidebar concept called, drawers, which draw out of the application window rather than expand from the inside like most application sidebars, are used. Despite criticism,^[1] third-party applications like Transmit, OmniWeb, Shiira and BBEdit quickly adopted drawers. The standard email client, Mail, used drawers for listing mailboxes prior to 10.4 ("Tiger"), when they were replaced by a traditional sidebar. A number of other Apple-created applications and third-party applications have replaced drawers with a sidebar, or re-designed the interface to make a sidebar/drawer unnecessary. Apple's Human Interface Guidelines now recommend against their use.^[2] Formerly drawer-heavy apps, like iCal and Adium, now contain no drawers at all, and instead display an optional sidebar within the main window.

References

↑ "The Mac OS X Drawer".
↑ "OS X Human Interface Guidelines". Drawers are rarely used in modern Mac apps. As much as possible, redesign your UI to avoid using drawers; if you’re creating a new app, avoid adding a drawer to the design.

Widgets List of …

Command input	Adjustment handle Button Context menu Drop-down list Hamburger button Menu Pie menu

Data input-output	Checkbox Color picker Combo box Cycle button Date Picker Grid view List box List builder Radio button Scrollbar Search box Slider Spinner Text box

Informational	Balloon help Head-up display in computing Head-up display in video games Icon Infobar Label Loading screen Progress indicator Progress bar Splash screen Throbber Sidebar Status bar Toast Tooltip

Containers	Accordion Disclosure widget Frame/Fieldset Menu bar Menu button Panel Popover Ribbon Tab Toolbar Window

Navigational	Address bar Breadcrumb Hyperlink Navigation bar Pager Tree view

Special windows	About box Alert dialog box Dialog box File dialog Inspector window Modal window Palette window

Related concepts	File viewer List of graphical user interface elements Layout manager Look and feel Mouseover Widget toolkit WIMP

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