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Discussion on: Should a button communicate the current state, the intended behavior, or both?

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robertcoopercode profile image
Robert Cooper

I think the button should convey what action will be performed rather than the current state. It's a common pattern I see when looking at websites that are in 2 languages in Canada (french + english).

For example on Kijiji (It's like Ebay), if you're navigating the site in English, you'll see "FR" displayed in the navbar to switch to French. If navigating in French, you'll see "EN" displayed in the navbar to switch to English.

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rbukovansky profile image
Richard Bukovansky

Man, that's confusing like hell... 😳

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jeyj0 profile image
Jannis Jorre

I have to agree for this case. I think "switch to FR" would be much better.
The way shown basically shows the opposite state - neither an action, nor the current state... 😅

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metalmikester profile image
Michel Renaud

It's quite common on web sites, though. Sometimes you'll see "English" or "Français" instead of just the first two letters. Sites that support more than two languages will usually have a dropdown to pick your preferred language, usually showing the currently selected language. Can't say I've ever had any problem with either approach.