When to use a toolbar
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Frequent actions: If you application has a set of actions that users perform frequently, placing these actions in a toolbar makes them easily accessible. For example, in text editors, actions like save, open, copy, paste, and undo are commonly found in the toolbar.
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Space Efficiency: Toolbars help save screen space by consolidating multiple commands into a single row or column, making the UI cleaner and less cluttered compared to having individual buttons scattered around.
- Enhanced Usability: For applications where users may perform multiple tasks that require switching between different tools frequently, toolbars enhance usability by reducing the number of clicks needed to access these tools.
Best practices
Short tooltips
Keep text labels on toolbar buttons or in tooltips brief. They should clearly communicate what will happen if that option is selected. Use sentence case and no end punctuation.
Grouping
Group related content together to make the toolbar more organized and intuitive.