What could I use for a tri-state control?

Question

I'm trying to think of a nice element where there are 3 states, but a simple checkbox would be a litlte overkill for what I want (I'd need two), as the states are:

• Enabled
• Default
• Disabled

But I want the user to be able to change to this at any one time and I find tri-state checkboxeIs are too difficult to figure out how to use.

What do you think is the best way to implement this? I currently am thinking of just three buttons, but there must be something really obvious that does this which I'm more than capable of programming (I'm a programmer not a UX desginer)

Answer 1

What's wrong with just using the standard element for choosing one of multiple options - the dropdown list (or combobox or select, depending on your technology)? Or if you want, you can use three radio buttons (but I prefer dropdowns for something like this).

Why create something with non-standard functionality when something already exists that everyone already knows how to use?

Answer 2

I think a button with a pop-up menu would be the best answer for this. See the image below.

You can easily create a custom control deriving from a toggle button and styling it accordingly. Depending on what technology you develop in this task may be easier or harder.

Answer 3

Mayby something like this:

^{download bmml source – Wireframes created with Balsamiq Mockups}

A row of buttons would work great for this purpose, and it shouldn't be that hard to make.