# Choosing between components Components that look alike in a mockup but behave differently. Find your decision below and read that one guide before picking a control. If none of them covers your case and you are unsure, ask rather than guessing. | Read this | When you are deciding | |---|---| | `choosing/button-family.md` | A control that performs an action: labelled, icon-only, or floating. | | `choosing/compact-labels.md` | A small pill or count with short text in it: which one, and what does clicking it do? | | `choosing/feedback.md` | Telling the user something happened: persistent, transient, or blocking. | | `choosing/filter-controls.md` | The user needs to narrow a table or list: where do the filter controls go? | | `choosing/input-pickers.md` | A box the user types into or picks from: which input, and whether it is a field or a filter. | | `choosing/navigation.md` | Moving the user between views: app areas, sections of a screen, or steps of a task. | | `choosing/overlay-surfaces.md` | Putting content on top of the page: which overlay surface, and never Modal. | | `choosing/selection-controls.md` | A row of side-by-side labels: is it a filter, a view mode, a set of tabs, or actions? | | `choosing/states.md` | Nothing to show yet: loading, running, genuinely empty, or failed. | Full titles: - `choosing/button-family.md` - Button vs IconButton vs FAB vs SpeedDial - `choosing/compact-labels.md` - Chip vs Badge vs TableStatusCell vs CardDataTag - `choosing/feedback.md` - Alert vs Snackbar - `choosing/filter-controls.md` - FilterMenu vs FilterPopover vs FilterPanel - `choosing/input-pickers.md` - TextField vs Select vs Autocomplete vs Search - `choosing/navigation.md` - LeftNavigation vs Tabs vs Stepper - `choosing/overlay-surfaces.md` - Dialog vs Drawer vs Popover vs Modal - `choosing/selection-controls.md` - ToggleButtonGroup vs Tabs vs individual Buttons - `choosing/states.md` - Skeleton vs Progress vs EmptyState vs Alert