hig-components-controls

Apple HIG: Selection and Input Controls Check for .claude/apple-design-context.md before asking questions. Use existing context and only ask for information not already covered. Key Principles Clear current state. Users must always see what is selected. Toggles show on/off, segmented controls highlight the active segment, pickers display the current selection. Prefer standard system controls. Built-in controls provide consistency and accessibility. Custom controls introduce a learning curve and may break assistive features. Toggles for binary states. On or off. In Settings-style screens, changes take effect immediately. In modal forms, changes commit on confirmation. Segmented controls for mutually exclusive options. 2-5 items, roughly equal importance, short labels. Sliders for continuous values. When precise numeric input is not critical. Provide min/max labels or icons for range endpoints. Pickers for long option lists. Too many options for a segmented control. Works well for dates, times, structured data. Steppers for small, precise adjustments. Increment/decrement in fixed steps. Display current value next to the stepper with reasonable min/max bounds. Text fields for short, single-line input. Text views for multi-line. Configure keyboard type to match expected input (email, URL, number). Combo boxes: text input + selection list. macOS. Type a value or choose from a predefined list when custom values are valid. Token fields: discrete values as visual tokens. macOS. For email recipients, tags, or collections of discrete items. Gauges and rating indicators display values. Gauges show a value within a range. Rating indicators show ratings (often stars). Display-only; use interactive variants for input. Reference Index Reference Topic Key content controls.md General controls States, affordance, system controls toggles.md Toggles On/off, immediate effect segmented-controls.md Segmented controls 2-5 options, equal weight sliders.md Sliders Continuous range, min/max labels steppers.md Steppers Fixed steps, bounded values pickers.md Pickers Dates, times, long option sets combo-boxes.md Combo boxes macOS, type or select, custom values text-fields.md Text fields Short input, keyboard types, validation text-views.md Text views Multi-line, comments, descriptions labels.md Labels Placement, VoiceOver support token-fields.md Token fields macOS, chips, tags, recipients virtual-keyboards.md Virtual keyboards Email, URL, number keyboard types rating-indicators.md Rating indicators Star ratings, display-only gauges.md Gauges Level indicators, range display Output Format Control recommendation with rationale and why alternatives are less suitable. State management -- how the control communicates current state and whether changes apply immediately or on confirmation. Validation approach -- when to show errors and how to communicate rules. Accessibility -- labels, traits, hints for VoiceOver. Questions to Ask What type of data? (Boolean, choice from fixed set, numeric, free-form text?) How many options? Which platforms? (Combo boxes and token fields are macOS-only) Settings screen or inline form?