A toggle is a switch with two positions: on and off. It is a common user interface element found in many applications and devices, including web browsers and mobile phones. Toggles help users update preferences, settings, and other types of information. When used properly, toggles can make a huge impact on the user experience. However, if not managed correctly, they can create confusion and frustration for the user. This article explores the basics of toggling and provides some best practices for designing and using toggles in your application.
Toggle can refer to hardware or software switching. For example, a keyboard’s Caps Lock and Num Lock toggles enable or disable specific functions. Toggles can also be used to indicate an active state, such as the on/off status of a radio transmitter.
In computer technology, toggles are often implemented with checkboxes or radio buttons. Checkboxes allow the user to select one of a limited number of options, while radio buttons allow the user to choose between two or more items. The word toggle has an 18th-century root, meaning a pin passed through the eye of a rope or cord to fasten it in place.
When designing toggles, it is important to consider the user’s perspective. A toggle should be clearly labeled and designed to be immediately visible. Labels should describe what will happen if the toggle is set to its on position, as well as what will happen if the toggle is set at its off position. Additionally, it is important to consider societal and cultural differences when choosing colors to represent the toggle’s state.
If a toggle is not immediately visible, it should be prominently displayed in the interface. This will encourage the user to interact with the toggle and help prevent them from forgetting or overlooking it. Furthermore, it is also helpful to design the toggle to be visually consistent with other user interface elements, such as buttons and icons.
When designing a toggle, it is important to keep in mind that the system may take some time to process the toggle’s state. For this reason, it is a good idea to add a visual indication that the toggle is processing, such as a loading animation or text that states “Loading”.
It is important for teams to test toggle configurations prior to their release. This is especially true if they are using a more dynamic toggle configuration system such as runtime feature flags. Using an approach that requires the re-deployment of an artifact to change its toggle configuration can significantly slow down the cycle times in your validation and testing processes.
Some teams choose to hardcode their toggle configuration by using a preprocessor’s #ifdef feature, but this method is limited in its ability to handle nested conditions. For this reason, it is often better to use a library that can manage toggling configuration at runtime.
