Toolbox

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What is a "Toolbox" in an Application?

A toolbox is a panel or floating window that contains tools that can be selected (activated). The difference between a toolbox and a toolbar is that tools in a toolbox are typically modal: there is always one tool selected, and activating one tool deactivates the other. In other words, the toolbox controls what "mode" of operation the application is currently in. Toolboxes are commonly seen in image editors such as Krita and Photoshop.

The tools in Krita's toolbox, labelled: vector tools: select shapes, text, edit shapes, calligraphy; raster tools: brush, line, rectangle, ellipse, polygon, freehand path, bezier, multibrush, dynamic brush, polyline; move & resize tools: transform, move, crop; sample & fill tools: gradient, eyedropper, colorize mask, smart patch, bucket fill, enclose and fill; utility tools: assistant, measure, reference image; selection tools: rectangular, elliptical, polygonal, lasso, magic wand, similar color, Bézier curve, magnetic curve; view tools: zoom, pan.
The tools in Krita's toolbox, labelled and categorized.

By convention, tools in a toolbox can be activated using keyboard shortcuts, generally not chords, but single keys. For example, the "brush" tool may be the key B, and the "text" tool T. Hovering over a tool should display its tooltip that contains which hotkey is currently associated to that tool.

In some applications, a single tool icon may feature a dropdown arrow that displays multiple tools pertaining to a single group (e.g. bucket fill and gradient fill may be separate tools grouped together).

A mouse cursor hovering over GIMP's toolbox. A tooltip reads "Drop image files here to open them."
The tooltip that appears when you hover over Wilber's face on the toolbox on GIMP. [How to Open a Second Image on GIMP]
Written by Noel Santos.

About the Author

I'm a self-taught Brazilian programmer graduated in IT from a FATEC. In a world of increasingly complex and essential computers, I decided to use my technical expertise in hardware, desktop applications, and web technologies to create an informative resource to make PC's easier to understand.

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