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Are there any guidelines for positioning of sound buttons (play, pause, mute)?

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What platform is this for? Web, moble, desktop? What are you making? – jonshariat Apr 26 '11 at 20:00
@jonshariat Web generally. I am making a social game. – RedDragon Apr 26 '11 at 20:09
Oh then I would add that you dont want to play audio right off the bat. Many people play at work, school, library, coffee shop. – jonshariat Apr 26 '11 at 20:11
Is this for video files or just sound files? – Ben Durnell Apr 26 '11 at 20:13
@Ben D For background music. – RedDragon Apr 26 '11 at 20:14
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2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted

I'm not sure what the standard is for this, but when I'm annoyed by sound I always look in the upper left, then right-hand corners for a mute button.

Failing that, I look for a settings area.

You should also consider where you have put other user controls, and whether or not it makes contextual sense to group this with them.

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up vote 5 down vote

General Guidelines:

  1. Play and pause should toggle

  2. Volume control should be separate from mute (dragging the volume down is not clear on how to stop the sound)

  3. Play button should be in close proximity to the timeline.

  4. UI design should blend into the background of what is being viewed.

  5. Small, but big enough click area for users to miss with their selecting device.

For many different design patterns of audio controls, check out this wonderful collection by Toxboe on http://www.UI-Patterns.com

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Thanks for your answer, but I need information on positioning. I have seen the buttons in corners, on top, in the botton etc. – RedDragon Apr 26 '11 at 20:10
Check out my edit above, there is a great collection of ideas here -> ui-patterns.com/users/1/collections/347 – jonshariat Apr 26 '11 at 20:20
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We had a good question a while back about whether play and pause should toggle. ux.stackexchange.com/questions/1215/… – Patrick McElhaney Apr 26 '11 at 20:35

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