I have recently had to do some research into two-part buttons and I have found that there are two types of these buttons. One is the menu button and the other is a split button.
The menu button has a category name or label on the button. Clicking it will always give you a list of options or actions that you can choose from. The label remains unchanged. Examples of this type would be the page button in ie7, the button to choose the search provider in firefox 2 and the amazon wish lists button. The spilt button on the other hand has two distinct parts - the left (and usually larger) part executes the default action when clicked. The right part provides the user with a set of related (and sometimes less frequently used) actions that they can choose from. I have also seen the drop down being used to change parameters for the default action. Depending on the situation that it is used in the default action may change or remain the same when a choice is made from the list. A save button with save as in the right side usually keeps save as the default choice. Other examples - button to execute the search and change the default provider in ie7, the print button in ie7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=27578 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
