13 KiB
Window sizes
Guidelines on choosing the correct size when creating a dialog or a popup
Follow these guidelines to select the correct size when creating a dialog or a popup for IntelliJ-based products.
For simple cases use default sizes for dialogs and popups. When default sizes don't work well, set minimum sizes for components.
Default sizes
Dialog
There are four recommended window sizes for dialogs: extra small, small, medium, and large. Select the size depending on the amount of content to keep the important information visible.
{width="706"}
When setting the default size for your dialog, it should be impossible to make it smaller.
Extra small
Size: 350×250 px.
Best for: several components that are stacked vertically.
{width="706"}
Small
Size: 500×350 px
Best for:
- Multiple components with short labels that are divided into two columns.
- A full-width table with two or three columns.
- A full-width code editor or snippet.
For example, the Evaluate Expressions dialog has two code snippets that are stacked vertically:
{width="706"}
Medium
Size: 750×525 px
Best for:
- A full-width table with four or more columns.
- Two-column layout with an image or a video in any of the columns. In this case, the image or the video takes the most space.
- Two-column layout with a code snippet or an input field with long text in any of the columns.
- Two code editors or snippets in a row.
For example, the Run/Debug Configuration dialog has a two-column layout with a tree in the first column and the list of controls with long texts in the second column:
{width="706"}
Large
Size: 1000×700 px
Best for:
- Two-column layout with long names, code editor, code snippet.
- Three-or-more-column layout regardless of the content.
For example, Code Style settings for Java in the Settings dialog. The dialog has three columns with a table and a code snippet in different columns:
{width="706"}
Popup
Minimum width
Popups should have the same default width as dialogs. In addition, there is a smaller size for popups – 200 px wide, when the content is narrow.
|
Insert 
|
Quick Fixes 
|
|
Documentation 
|
|
Search Everywhere 
|
Minimum height
Unlike dialogs, popups have an adaptive height. Adapt the height of a popup to the amount of content inside.
For example, the height of the Documentation popup is different depending on what is focused in the editor:
Maximum width and height
The maximum width and height shouldn't exceed 80% of a screen size. Use a scrollbar if a popup's content doesn't fit within the set dimensions.
Tool windows
Default sizes:
- Vertical tool windows should take 20% of the application width but not less than 200×500 px.
- Horizontal tool windows should take 20% of the application height but not less than 500×200 px.
The default sizes should be set for all the states of the View Mode.
Vertical Project tool window:
|
Horizontal Build tool window:
|
Editor tabs
Place your content into a tab in the editor when there are three or more columns in a row with code that needs to be shown.
For example, the Merge functionality features a list of changes with actions in a tool window and two code editors with line numbers:
{width="706"}
Minimum sizes for components
When the default sizes are either too big or too small for a window, or the window has a complex layout, add minimum sizes to important content inside the window. This will make the content displayed correctly and reduce any potential issues caused by resizing the window.
How to set the size correctly
-
Select how the content is displayed:
Table cell
Width: min 65 px
Height for the whole table: min 120 px
Follow guidelines for table width
Tree
Width: min 250 px
Text area
Width: min 270 px, max 600 px
Height: min 55 px
For size and placement follow the text area guidelines
Diagram
A container with horizontal and vertical insets with 100 px
-
What type of content is used:
Class/test/file name
Width: min 250 px
URL/Path/FQN for class
Width: min 350 px
Class/test/file name + URL/Path/FQN for class
Width: min 400 px
Code snippet or editor
Width: min 400 px
Height (when multiple lines): min 120 px
Standalone text
Width: min 300 px
Height (when multiple lines): min 120 px
-
Select the biggest size out of the two to add the minimum size to a component
Example 1
The Rename Inheritors dialog has a table with FQNs. Add 350 px as the minimum width for a table column. This will make the dialog wider than the recommended 500 px but will show more of FQNs.
Correct
|
Acceptable
|
Example 2
Settings dialog has the default size 1000 px. In the Code Style settings for Java set 400 px as the minimum width of the code editor. This will make the dialog wider but will show more code
Correct
|
Acceptable
|
Example 3
Add horizontal and vertical 100 px insets inside the Diagram popup to make it adaptable to the different amounts of content inside.
Correct
|
Acceptable
|
Empty state
Some components, for example, tables, can have an empty state when there is no content. In this case, the minimum size of a component in both empty and filled states is defined by its filled state.
For example, the size of the Custom Plugin Repository dialog is defined by the minimum size of the table that contains URLs (minimum 350 px wide), and not by the size of the smaller empty state:
Correct
|
Incorrect
|