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I am working on a GUI application. I'm doing the Mac OS X interface right now and I'm trying to make it adhere to Apple's interface guidelines. I currently have this:

Screenshot

Relevent Mac interface guidelines page

As you can see, I am using bevel buttons instead of push buttons so I can display icons, to make the interface easier to understand.

However, I am displaying the label on the right side of the image and I don't know if that is allowed, and I am also not sure if this is not a bad use of bevel buttons (Maybe I should just use iconless push buttons).

So do the interface guidelines forbid using bevel buttons like this?

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  • I doubt that the icons will improve the UX. It feels like there is more potential for improvement in the wording. Aug 11, 2013 at 8:58
  • Why add buttons for copy and paste? Users that don't know how copy&paste work, will not be able to use your app anyway. Aug 11, 2013 at 9:07
  • Have you considered automatically updating the right column? Aug 11, 2013 at 9:08
  • @KrisVanBael 1. What could I change in the wording? Suggestions are appriciated :) 2. Since pasting-copying is so essential here, I make it prominent and easy to do 3. I have considered it but had problems implementing. I will try implementing it again, however.
    – jobukkit
    Aug 11, 2013 at 9:37
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    Separate, not seperate. Use title-style capitalization on your window title and headers. Give your 3 columns a proper header (eg. "Unformatted Text", "Options", "Result"). Show the hints "Paste a list here" and "Formatted list will appear here" inside the edit fields (cfr. as edit field hints). Aug 11, 2013 at 15:30

1 Answer 1

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The documentation on bevel buttons states that they are being deprecated:

Note: Bevel buttons are not recommended for use in apps that run in OS X v10.7 and later. You should consider alternatives, such as gradient buttons and segmented controls (described in “Gradient Button” and “Segmented Control,” respectively).

That aside, I see no issue with placing the label to the right of the image as this is common for menus. The examples that Apple provides in the guidelines show labels at the bottom, but those are for square buttons whereas yours are rectangles.

Label positioning for bevel buttons

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