A GUI widget (or control) is an element of a graphical user interface (GUI) that displays an information arrangement changeable by the user, such as a window or a text box. The defining characteristic of a widget is to provide a single interaction point for the direct manipulation of a given kind of data. In other words, widgets are basic visual building blocks which, combined in an application, hold all the data processed by the application and the available interactions on this data.
List of common generic widgets
- Selection and display of collections
- Button– control which can be clicked upon to perform an action
- Check box – control which can be clicked upon to select or deselect an option. Multiple check boxes in a group may be selected
- Radio button – control which can be clicked upon to select an option from a selection of options from which only one can be selected at a time. Thus radio buttons always appear in pairs or larger groups
- Split button – control combining a button (typically invoking some default action) and a drop-down list with related, secondary actions
- Slider – control with a handle that can be moved up and down (vertical slider) or right and left (horizontal slider) to select a value (or a range if two handles are present)
- List box
- Spinner – value input control which has small up and down buttons to step through a range of values
- Drop-down list
- Menu– control with multiple actions which can be clicked upon to choose a selection to activate
- Context menu – a type of menu whose contents depend on the context or state in effect when the menu is invoked
- Pie menu
- Ribbon
- Menu bar
- Toolbar
- Combo box (text box with attached menu or List box)
- Icon
- Tree view
- Grid view
- Button– control which can be clicked upon to perform an action
- Navigation
- Link
- Tab
- Scrollbar
- Text/value input
- Text box (edit field)
- Combo box (text box with attached menu)
- Output
- Label – text used to describe another widget
- Tooltip – informational window which appears when the mouse hovers over another control
- Balloon help
- Status bar
- Progress bar
- Infobar
- Containers
- Window
- Collapsible panel
- Accordion (GUI)
- Modal window
- Dialog box
- Palette window, also known as "Utility window"
- Inspector window
- Frame
- Window
