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Graphical widget
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<p>A graphical widget (also graphical control element or control) in a <a href="/facts/Graphical_user_interface/wBlQFWDP">graphical user interface</a> is an <a href="/facts/Human%E2%80%93machine_interface/e9sPEWVD">element of interaction</a>, such as a <a href="/facts/Button_(computing)/TAJ36ebs">button</a> or a <a href="/facts/Scrollbar/4PXB6nCS">scroll bar</a>. Controls are <a href="/facts/Software_component/eW5wvSHC">software components</a> that a computer user interacts with through <a href="/facts/Direct_manipulation/XvzG3fQq">direct manipulation</a> to read or edit information about an application. User interface libraries such as <a href="/facts/Windows_Presentation_Foundation/KTs9FcFn">Windows Presentation Foundation</a>, <a href="/facts/Qt_(software)/gVhwlQnJ">Qt</a>, <a href="/facts/GTK/oLpVm9pp">GTK</a>, and <a href="/facts/Cocoa_(API)/p10p5aFI">Cocoa</a>, contain a collection of controls and the logic to render these. </p><p>Each widget facilitates a specific type of user-computer interaction, and appears as a visible part of the application's GUI as defined by the theme and rendered by the rendering engine. The theme makes all widgets adhere to a unified aesthetic design and creates a sense of overall cohesion. Some widgets support interaction with the user, for example labels, <a href="/facts/Button_(computing)/TAJ36ebs">buttons</a>, and <a href="/facts/Checkbox/r8K5WtoR">check boxes</a>. Others act as <a href="/facts/Container_(abstract_data_type)/gsC5UcqD">containers</a> that group the widgets added to them, for example <a href="/facts/Window_(computing)/g39X0vV3">windows</a>, <a href="/facts/Panel_(computer_software)/oTNklJge">panels</a>, and tabs. </p><p>Structuring a user interface with <a href="/facts/Widget_toolkit/v8wM8wwy">widget toolkits</a> allows developers to reuse code for similar tasks, and provides users with a common language for interaction, maintaining consistency throughout the whole information system. </p><p><a href="/facts/Graphical_user_interface_builder/nEGfulUQ">Graphical user interface builders</a> facilitate the authoring of GUIs in a <a href="/facts/What_You_See_Is_What_You_Get/aGmcHWpX">WYSIWYG</a> manner employing a <a href="/facts/User_interface_markup_language/hXb1m1L4">user interface markup language</a>. They automatically generate all the <a href="/facts/Source_code/o9J6Jv23">source code</a> for a widget from general descriptions provided by the developer, usually through <a href="/facts/Direct_manipulation/XvzG3fQq">direct manipulation</a>. </p>