Widget toolkit
lastmod 2025-12-11created 2016-10-268 edits
A widget toolkit, widget library, or GUI toolkit is a collection of widgets for use in designing applications with graphical user interfaces. The toolkit itself is a part of a program generally provided by an operating system, windowing system, or window manager that offers an API, and it helps with using widgets. Each widget makes use of a specific user-computer interaction and makes it appear to be part of the computer's GUI.
The widgets provided by a toolkit usually adhere to a unified design specification, including aesthetics.
Desktop widget
- Screenlet (Linux)
Libraries
Table of Graphical Widgets
| Command input | Adjustment handle, Button, Context menu, Drop-down list, Hamburger button, Menu, Pie menu |
| Data input-output | Checkbox, Color picker, Combo box, Cycle button, Date picker, Grid view, Toggle switch, List box, List builder, Radio button, Scrollbar, Search box, Slider, Spinner, Text box |
| Informational | Balloon help, Head-up display in computing, HUD in video games, Icon, Infobar, Label, Loading screen, Progress indicator (Progress bar, Splash screen, Throbber), Sidebar, Status bar, Toast, Tooltip |
| Containers | Accordion, Tree view, Client-side decoration, Disclosure widget, Frame/Fieldset, Menu bar, Panel, Popover, Ribbon, Tab, Toolbar, Window (Window decoration), Workspace |
| Navigational | Address bar, Bookmarks bar, Breadcrumb navigation, Hyperlink, Navigation bar, Virtual desktop |
| Special windows | Alert dialog box, Dialog box, File dialog, Inspector window, Modal window, Palette window |
| Related concepts | File viewer, List of graphical user interface elements, Layout manager, Look and feel, Mouseover, Scrolling, Widget toolkit, WIMP, Zoomable user interface |