Checkbox UI guidelines on using checkboxes.

Implementation: JCheckBox, JBCheckBox

A preview of checkboxes in different states

Use checkboxes for yes/no choices or for selecting several items in a group:

An example of a checkbox group with two selected options

Use radio button instead if:

A radio button group with only one selected option possible Only one option in a group can be selected.
Two radio buttons with clear labels The behavior in the "off" state is unclear from the checkbox label. Use two radio buttons instead and label them accordingly

A label accompanies each checkbox and is placed on the right side.

CorrectA correct checkbox with the label on the right IncorrectAn incorrect checkbox with the label on the left
checkBox( """<html>Insert selected suggestion by pressing space, dot,<br/> or other context-dependent keys</html>""") new JCheckBox( "<html>Insert selected suggestion by pressing space, dot,<br/>" + "or other context-dependent keys</html>");

If a label is long, split it into two lines. Use HTML formatting for that. Avoid labels that take more than two lines. See recommendations on writing concise labels below.

CorrectA correct checkbox with the label on the right IncorrectAn incorrect checkbox with the label on the left

If a checkbox appears in a table, place the label into the column header and do not repeat it on every row:

A table with checkboxes where the label is placed into the column header Checkboxes are rendered in tables with BooleanTableCellRenderer and edited with DefaultCellEditor(JCheckBox) implementation. For any column that should be rendered as a checkbox, set both a renderer and editor for consistency. The type of data in the correspondent column of the Table model should either be Boolean or String containing true or false. TableColumn column = table.getColumnModel().getColumn(COLUMN_INDEX); column.setCellEditor(JBTable.createBooleanEditor()); column.setCellRenderer(new BooleanTableCellRender());

In a group of options, use the parent checkbox to show the status of its children:

Different states for a parent checkbox: checked, indeterminate, and unchecked

The parent checkbox in checked, indeterminate and unchecked states.

The three-state checkbox is represented by the ThreeStateCheckBox class which represents its state with the ThreeStateCheckBox.State enum containing SELECTED, NOT_SELECTED, DONT_CARE states.

When the user clicks an indeterminate checkbox for the first time, the whole group becomes checked. The second click unchecks the whole group.

An indeterminate checkbox can also show the download status. An example with a remote repository:

Indeterminate checkboxes showing download status

Repositories "tools-base" and "contrib" are being loaded. When loading is finished, the indeterminate checkbox will be replaced with the checked checkbox if there are commits, or an unchecked checkbox if there are no commits.

In a table, the three-state checkbox is represented by ThreeStateCheckBoxRenderer that provides both TableCellRenderer and TableEditor. It accepts Boolean type in the column being supplied by the TableModel and becomes DONT_CARE when the value in the cell is null. Otherwise, it becomes SELECTED for Boolean.TRUE, and NOT_SELECTED for Boolean.FALSE.
  • Use sentence-style capitalization:
    CorrectA correct checkbox with the imperative form of the verb IncorrectAn incorrect checkbox with the declarative form of the verb
  • Do not use ending punctuation:
    CorrectA correct checkbox with the imperative form of the verb IncorrectAn incorrect checkbox with the declarative form of the verb
  • Use the imperative form of verbs:
    CorrectA correct checkbox with the imperative form of the verb IncorrectAn incorrect checkbox with the declarative form of the verb
  • Do not use negation in labels as it complicates understanding:
    CorrectA correct checkbox with the imperative form of the verb IncorrectAn incorrect checkbox with the declarative form of the verb
    Exception: Do not show again checkbox.
  • Make labels short and intelligible. See Writing short and clear.

    • If a checkbox depends on another control, for example, an input field, follow the rules for dependent controls. Otherwise, follow the rules for independent controls.