trying to determine best user interface for layouts - winform button that shows dropdown

Question

I am adding layout management to my winforms GUI which really just means that you can "Save" the current column settings with a "Key"

so for example you can have "View 1" or "View 2".

anyway, i dont have much real estate on the screen but i am trying to figure out the best way to:

1. Allow you to save the current layout as a "Saved Layout"
2. Allow you to select another layout and apply it.

Right now i have:

1. Save Icon
2. Combobox that has a list of saved layouts
3. Apply Icon

It works ok but it look a little unclear because the dropdown combobox is available and doesn't necessarly correspond to the view you are looking at.

I thought one idea was to instead of showing the combo, to just have two buttons:

1. Save layout
2. Apply existing layout.

when you clicked #2, this would then turn into a dropdown and show the other layouts.

thoughts or any other suggestions on a clear way to visualize this?

Answer 1

I try to keep the UI as uncluttered as I can, particularly when it comes to functionality that is of a more ancillary nature. To that end, if I can utilize something like a context menu that the user can right-click to pull up, I will. From the context menu, I generally provide a dialog box to support the functionality needed.

If the saving of the layout is a primary function of the form you are displaying to the user, it might warrant UI elements like a button or combo box that has dedicated real estate. Otherwise, I'd think seriously about putting the controls that provide that functionality on another pop-up dialog and using a mechanism like a context menu to bring up that dialog.

The downside to the context menu idea, initially, is that the user needs to "know" that the functionality exists. That might be solved by training or by tooltip hints or other means. Typically once the user "knows" that controls like ListViews, TreeViews and DataGridViews can have context menus, they don't have problems finding the functionality.

Just my two cents.