Frames and Separators
A frame is a box with a title that you can draw around controls to organise them into functional groups. A separator is a single horizontal or vertical line that you can use to divide windows into functional groups.
Frames with a border around their perimeter have traditionally been used for denoting groups of related controls. This is advantageous because it physically seperates disimilar controls, and also avoids repitition of the frame's label in individual member control labels. Unfortunately, they add visual noise that can both make a window appear more complex than it really is, and reduce the ability to quickly scan window elements.
Rather than using bordered frames, use frames without borders, bold labels to make the categories stand out, and indented contents. This, combined with good layout and spacing, is usually a better alternative to bordered frames.
- Before you add a frame with a visible border or separator to any window, consider carefully if you really need it. It is usually better to do without, if the groups can be separated by space alone. Do not use frames and separators to compensate for poor control layout or alignnment.
- Do not mix framed and unframed groups in the same window.
- Do not nest one frame inside another. This results in visual clutter.
- If all the items in a group are disabled, disable the group title too.