Radio buttons

A radio button lets the user select a setting. Typically, two or more radio buttons form a group in which only one setting can be on at a time. (The settings are mutually exclusive.) To select a setting, the user clicks the button whose label displays the desired choice. The setting remains on until the user turns on a different setting.


When to use radio buttons

Use radio buttons when the user can select one setting at a time from a group of two to seven items. To present more than seven mutually exclusive settings, use a pop-up menu or a scrolling list.

Radio button layout

When you implement a group of radio buttons, supply a group label and a label for each button. The group label identifies the buttons as a whole. For both types of labels, use brief descriptive phrases--from one to three words.

When you implement a radio button, you also determine whether the button is laid out from left to right, right to left, top to bottom, or bottom to top:


The CommonPoint application system automatically lays out the radio button group for you, placing each button label to the right of its button. However, you must place the group label above or to the left of the group.

Radio button interaction

When the user mouses down to click on a radio button, the radio button is highlighted. On the mouse up, a dot appears inside the button and remains there until the user clicks another radio button.



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