Unclear how to choose between checkbox and radio button as form display widget on list fields

A helptext "This widget uses radio buttons if the "Allowed number of values" is set to 1. If the number of allowed values is more than 1 or unlimited, checkboxes will be used." will be displayed in manage form display when Checkboxes/Radio buttons is selected as widget.

Was going to mark but proposed solution seems to still be up in the air. @annmarysruthy since you worked on it what was your rational behind the other parts.

Thanks for the initial work on the issue! I've applied and tested MR9507. A few observations and thoughts about the current implementation.

The description This widget uses radio buttons if the "Allowed number of values" is set to 1. If the number of allowed values is more than 1 or unlimited, checkboxes will be used. is currently placed on the Manage form display page. First, all the descriptions for the other widgets are of informational nature only, outlining the active settings of a widget, while the description for the list field is purely of instructional nature, telling the user how to set the widget to checkboxs or radio buttons.
It is also not clear at all where the "Allowed number of values" is set on this page. The widget doesn't have a settings button even. To someone unfamiliar with Drupal this might be a major source of confusion if the description is referring to a setting which is located on a completely different page.

Having that kind of information available in context on the field settings page when a field and content type is set up is sort of important imho. That was the reason why one of the initial suggestions in the steps to reproduce section was to place the description on the field settings page instead of the manage form display page.

On the other hand "just" moving the description over to the field settings page wouldn't solve this multipage problem and the ambiguity coming from the option label (Check boxes / radio buttons) on the select field either entirely.

If someone has deliberately set the "allowed number of values" on the field settings page to 1, then i consider it also potentially confusing still having a settings field label of Check boxes / radio buttons. At this point the desired widget was already chosen and you have no edit settings button available for that widget. So having a visual reassurance within the interface, in case 2 was set on the field settings page, so the select field label would just display Radio buttons, while if the value is set to 1 on the field settings the option would display Checkboxes instead.

On the other hand for someone who has not set up the content type and its fields it might be potentially confusing not seeing Checkboxes in case Radio buttons is the available option based on the settings made on the field settings page. That was one concern, I think @benjifisher voiced, when I've suggest using either checkboxes or radio buttons as the label depending on the settings on the field settings page during the ux meeting.

On the first look a simple problem, but on closer look a quite tricky one, if you are trying to provide clarity and situational awareness to the user. I wonder if it would make sense to file the issue for a usability review to discuss the problem in a group context. back then we just noticed and raised it while discussing and reviewing ✨ Add a '#selectall' option for checkboxes element Active .