(computer science) In a graphical user interface, one of a group of small circles that represent a set of choices (indicated by text next to the circles) from which only one can be selected; the selected choice is indicated by a partly filled circle.
Radio button
| Sci-Tech Dictionary: radio button |
(′rād·ē·ō ′bət·ən)
| 5min Related Video: Radio button |
| Computer Desktop Encyclopedia: radio buttons |
A series of on-screen buttons that allow only one selection to be made from the group. If a button is currently selected, it will de-select when any other button is selected. Radio buttons come from the early days of radio, which had five or six preset station buttons in a row. Pressing one button deselected the other station.
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| Business Dictionary: Radio Button |
(computers) a circle in a Dialog Box that can be clicked with a mouse to turn it on or off, thereby selecting one option or another. Radio buttons (named by analogy to the pushbuttons on a car radio) are used for mutually exclusive options. For example, in a Print dialog, the user may elect to print the entire document, selected pages, or just the current page.
| Wikipedia: Radio button |
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Radio buttons, the choice 'Cat' is selected.
A radio button or option button is a type of graphical user interface element that allows the user to choose only one of a predefined set of options. They were named after the physical buttons used on older car radios to select preset stations - when one of the buttons was pressed, other buttons would pop out, leaving the pressed button the only button in the "pushed in" position. Although sometimes called "radial" buttons because of their circular shape, this name is incorrect. The buttons were named for their behavior, not their shape.
Radio buttons are arranged in groups of two or more and displayed on screen as, for example, a list of circular holes that can contain white space (for unselected) or a dot (for selected). Adjacent to each radio button is normally shown a caption describing the choice that this radio button represents. When the user selects a radio button, any previously selected radio button in the same group becomes deselected. Selecting a radio button is done by clicking the mouse on the button, or the caption, or by using a keyboard shortcut.
It is possible that initially none of the radio buttons in a group are selected. This state cannot be restored by interacting with the radio button widget (but it may be possible through other user interface elements). The Apple Human Interface Guidelines specify that one item of a radio button group must always be selected.
When used in an HTML form, if no button in a group is checked, then no name-value pair is passed when the form is submitted. For example, for a radio button group named Gender with the options Male and Female, the variable Gender would not be passed, even with a blank value.
See also
External links
- A usability column on when to use radio buttons and when to use checkboxes
- Improper Terminology: "Radial" Button
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 | Sci-Tech Dictionary. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. Copyright © 2003, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1978, 1976, 1974 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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