What icon would you use for 'Clear'? (As in clear a text box)

Question

On a windows form what icon would you use for 'Clear'? (As in clear a text box)

Thanks

Answer 1

The eraser end of a pencil, or a blackboard type eraser?

Answer 2

An eraser would also be what I'd expect to find if I was searching.

Answer 3

I've seen the following:

Eraser (like a pink rectangular one)

An 'X' (wasn't that intuitive)

A star (that indicated 'new', I guess)

Some letters with the red circle with the line through it (No text)

I think whatever you choose, the tooltip is the key to creating the connection in the user's brain. Ultimately, the icon needs to be simple and clear. I've seen some horrendous icons before - a tan "path" with green grass that was supposed to be used to change the path the program used... definitely not intuitive.

Answer 4

Like mentioned by others, the tooltip is the most important thing no matter what sort of icon you'd choose. There are cultural differences which gives symbols and colors different meaning

• red are in some cultures a good thing
• the meaning of an x and a checkmark has completly different meanings between cultures
• and so on

Try to go with "industry standards" and if there are any design guidelines for the platform you are building for, for example microsoft have very detailed design guidelines for visual elements and so on.

Answer 5

A button with the text "Clear"

Answer 6

Perhaps a dustpan and handbroom, placed inside on the left side of the field (or on the right in a rtl environment).

Clicking it once clears the text, and again restores the text but selected.

The important bit is that you test it: Sit people in front of the textbox with some text in it, and see how they interact with your widget.

Answer 7

I don't think I would expect any icon for this action as clearing a single text box often is done best by hand (ie. selecting the text and pressing delete).

If you need a button I would go for something mentioned before: A button with the text 'Clear' on it. Otherwize you could design your own icon with an eraser erasing a line of text.

Answer 8

An eraser for me, but supported by the text "Clear", or a tooltip. I ask you: why you need a clear button? Do you really need it?

A had a recent discussion about this topic, and my conclusion was that a button to clear all the text written by an user in a textarea is never necessary. Worst: it can be dangerous.

Maybe you can show me an example that change my mind.