Are double tabs on the same level acceptable?

Question

In my Windows application, I want to show the user some kind of map. The information displayed on this map can vary a lot, depending on filters set by the user. With these filters set, the user will want to look at the map for different locations (views) and see those in different modes.

Because there is no particular order in switching - user 1 might check all the views in mode 1 and then check them all again in mode 2, whereas user 2 might check each view in mode 1 and mode 2 before moving on to the next view - it seems inappropriate to have nested tabs. Another consideration is that WinForms is poor on suitable toggle buttons.

Would it be acceptable to have two tab controls at the same level, such that the combination of selected tabs determines exactly what is displayed? I'm not sure whether that breaks the tab metaphor or not. Here's an image of what it would look like:

Other suggestions are welcome of course!

With regards to the checkbox/radiobutton solution, my problem with it is that they are much harder to click on than tabs. The radiobutton idea is a better fit, but is there maybe something larger, yet pretty?

Answer 1

If you have two groups of tabs, users may think they can only select one, regardless of where you place them. In general, we are familiar with the perception of only having one tab selected. I would suggest a similar approach as mentioned in another answer but with radio buttons rather than checkboxes as I believe you only want the user to select one "mode".

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

Answer 2

My suggestion is to go for Tab + Filter combination.

Answer 3

Yes, that completely breaks the tab metaphor. You could use sub-tabs, perhaps:

+-----+------+-----+
|     |      |     |
+     +------+-----+--------------------+
| +------+-----+                        |
| |      |     |                        |
| +------+     +----------------------+ |
| |                                   | |
| |                                   | |
| |                                   | |
| |                                   | |
| +-----------------------------------+ |
+---------------------------------------+

Though if I understand your needs correctly--based on your use of filters--I think a 'faceted search' type of interface might better suit your needs.

Answer 4

As unanimously noted above, you can't have double tabs. If you're concerned that radio buttons have too small a target area (although it doesn't seem to bother anyone else on the web ;), you can have a button bar.

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

Answer 5

As others have said, the multiple tab sets is confusing - the first thing I thought when I saw it was "why are we on two pages at once?".

If radio buttons are too small for the mode options (bearing in mind that the text should be clickable too), there are a few options that come to mind:

1. Make the radio button controls themselves bigger - this means that if the user misses by a little way, it can still press the button.

2. Using windows controls, you can tell radio buttons to look like normal buttons, where the selected one is highlighted - although then you have the problem of something that looks like a button but isn't really.

3. Put the radio buttons into boxes (panels?), and have the box-click event forward onto the button-click event. This way you'll have to program the "select one only" nature of the radio buttons

I'm sure there are other options for making radio buttons "more clickable", but that's what's come to mind so far.