Radio buttons are small circles next to text in a configuration menu box that allow users to select one option. They are different from checkboxes, which allow for multiple selections. A good GUI is important for software success, and radio buttons are commonly used in setup menus. Java-based snippets like JRadioButton are available for programmers.
In software, a radio button is a small empty circle adjacent to text in a configuration menu box. Clicking the radio button places a solid point in the circle, selecting the option. Clicking a selected radio button deselects it, removing the dot. When one radio button is selected, the others within the category are turned off.
The radio button gets its name from the way a physical radio is controlled. Radios typically have a line of preset station buttons; on a button press, releases a previously pressed button. Radio buttons present an opportunity for action. This separates them from checkboxes, which are also used in the software. Checkboxes are used when multiple selections are possible within a category.
Checkboxes, radio buttons, toolbars, and workspace windows are all elements of the graphical user interface (GUI). This is the part of the software that the user can see and interact with the verses of the hidden coding “behind the curtain”. A clean, easy to understand, and attractive GUI can sell an adequate program, while a complicated or counterintuitive GUI can sink an otherwise good program. Typically, a commercial programmer’s goal is to create software that combines an attractive graphical interface with robust functionality.
So when designing software, it’s important to choose the right graphics for the right job. When the user’s setup requires choosing only one selection out of two or more choices, the radio button is the right GUI element, offering foolproof functionality to the user. If multiple choices are possible, the checkboxes are appropriate.
Radio button selections are not processed until the user clicks a button, commonly “Save”, “OK” or “Apply”. If this action is omitted or the user inadvertently clicks “Close” or “Cancel” first, the previous selections remain in effect. Microsoft, Apple, and Linux operating systems and programs use checkboxes or radio buttons in virtually all setup menus. Radio buttons or checkboxes are also present in third-party software that requires user configuration.
Java-based snippets and programs like JRadioButton are freely available to programmers for adding radio buttons to software. There are also tutorials and lots of information for the software’s burgeoning author.
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