Often the visual representation of an object, such as a document or a list, will not fit within the space allocated to its viewer control. In these cases, scrollbars can be attached to the viewer control. These allow the user to alter the horizontal or vertical position of the viewport onto the object, and thus the portion of the object that is visible.
Guidelines
Scrollbars should be aligned in both directions with the view they are affixed to on the axis they control. In other words, horizontal scrollbars should span the full length of the viewer control, and vertical scrollbars should span the full height of the viewer control.Only display scrollbars when they are required. If
an object fits entirely inside the viewer control, don't draw scrollbars. If you are
using a GtkScrolledWindow, use gtk_scrolled_window_set_policy
to set the scrollbar display policy to GTK_POLICY_AUTOMATIC.
Do not use scrollbars as a replacement for a slider. Scrollbars should only be used affixed to a view that they actively alter, not used as a generic continuous input control.Affix scrollbars to the right or bottom edges only of a viewer control. Make the scrollbar the full height or width of the control.
Affix scrollbars to the right side of a viewer control (to slide the view vertically), or to the bottom side (to slide the view horizontally). Do not affix scrollbars on the top or left sides of a viewer control.Update the view in real time as the user drags a scrollbar. Any delay will negatively impact a user's ability to navigate the content.
Don't use a scrollbar as a replacement for a slider.