# Pickers

Source: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/pickers
Skill: hig-components-controls
Snapshot: 2025-02-02

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<!-- hig-doctor:attribution -->
> **Source**: Apple Inc. Canonical content at https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/pickers.
> This file is a structured index of that content, snapshot 2025-02-02.
> Apple HIG text and imagery are © Apple Inc.; this repository provides organization and cross-referencing for AI agent consumption only.

# Pickers

## Best practices

**Consider using a picker to offer medium-to-long lists of items.**

**Use predictable and logically ordered values.**

**Avoid switching views to show a picker.**

**Consider providing less granularity when specifying minutes in a date picker.**

## Platform considerations

### iOS, iPadOS

  * Compact — A button that displays editable date and time content in a modal view.

  * Inline — For time only, a button that displays wheels of values; for dates and times, an inline calendar view.

  * Wheels — A set of scrolling wheels that also supports data entry through built-in or external keyboards.

  * Automatic — A system-determined style based on the current platform and date picker mode.

  * Date — Displays months, days of the month, and years.

  * Time — Displays hours, minutes, and (optionally) an AM/PM designation.

  * Date and time — Displays dates, hours, minutes, and (optionally) an AM/PM designation.

  * Countdown timer — Displays hours and minutes, up to a maximum of 23 hours and 59 minutes. This mode isn’t available in the inline or compact styles.

  * Compact 
  * Inline 
  * Wheels 

**Use a compact date picker when space is constrained.**

### macOS

**Choose a date picker style that suits your app.**

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For the complete guidance, including worked examples and illustrations, see the canonical page: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/pickers