What Does Dialog Box Mean? Techopedia Explains Dialog Box The dialog box is usually invoked by a program to enable reciprocal communication with the user or if a user invokes a function for which input is required. There are two types of dialog boxes: Modal: Halts the application so that the user cannot continue until the dialog box has been closed or its purpose satisfied. This type of dialog box is used when the program needs information or is providing a warning. Modeless: Used when the information or action being requested by the dialog box is not essential for the proper function of the program so it can be left open while the user continues to work on the application.
Share this Term. Status Bar. Tech moves fast! When "Save As While dialog boxes may not seem too exciting, they provide an intuitive way to communicate with the computer and are an essential part of today's computer interfaces. The definition of Dialog Box on this page is an original TechTerms. If you would like to reference this page or cite this definition, you can use the green citation links above. The goal of TechTerms. We strive for simplicity and accuracy with every definition we publish.
If you have feedback about the Dialog Box definition or would like to suggest a new technical term, please contact us. How to search the internet. Search Guides Search. Remote Digital Championing! Find out more. Most read guides. What is Android? What is a computer? What is a PC? Normally, the individual controls within a group are assigned access keys, so the group label doesn't need one.
However, if there is a shortage of access keys, assign an access key to the group label and not the individual controls. Link labels. There are often too many links to assign unique access keys, and the underscores often used to signify links hide the access key underscores. Access links with the Tab key instead. Browse buttons labeled " These Browse buttons can't be assigned access keys uniquely.
Unlabeled controls, such as spin controls, graphic command buttons, and unlabeled progressive disclosure controls. Non-label static text or labels for controls that aren't interactive, such as progress bars.
Whenever possible, assign access keys for commonly used commands according to the Standard Access Key Assignments. While consistent access key assignments aren't always possible, they are certainly preferred especially for frequently used dialog boxes. Assign commit button access keys first to ensure that they have the standard key assignments. If there isn't a standard key assignment, use the first letter of the first word. For example, the access key for Yes and No commit buttons should always be "Y" and "N", regardless of the other controls in the dialog box.
To make access keys easy to find, assign the access keys to a character that appears early in the label, ideally the first character, even if there is a keyword that appears later in the label. Avoid using characters that make the underline difficult to see, such as from most problematic to least problematic :. For more guidelines and examples, see Keyboard. For long-running tasks, assume that users will do something else while the task is completing.
Design the task to run unattended. In this example, Windows Explorer allows users to continue with the task after a recoverable error. Don't use a notification for completion feedback. Use either a progress dialog or an action success notification , but not both. This compact format shows the most important information first so that it isn't truncated on the taskbar.
For more information and examples, see Progress Bars. In this example, a warning icon is incorrectly used for a question that doesn't involve potential loss of data or system access. In this example, the yellow star icon represents Favorites. The icon is easily recognizable and is used consistently throughout Windows to represent Favorites. For more information and examples, see Icons. Don't confirm commit buttons. Doing so unnecessarily can be very annoying. For more guidelines and examples, see Confirmations.
Right-align commit buttons in a single row across the bottom of the dialog box, but above the footnote area. Do this even if there is a single commit button such as OK.
Have a clear separation from commit buttons which close the window and all other command buttons such as Advanced. Users should be able to understand the options by reading the button text alone.
Use Close for dialogs that don't have settings, such as informational dialogs. Never use Close for dialogs that have settings. Use OK when changing a specific setting or a collection of settings. For legacy dialog boxes without a main instruction, you can use generic labels such as OK. Often such dialog boxes aren't designed to perform a specific task, preventing more specific responses. Certain tasks require more thought and careful reading for users to make informed decisions.
This is usually the case with confirmations. In such cases, you can purposely use generic commit button labels to force users to read the main instructions and prevent hasty decisions. Alternatively, you can add the word "anyway" to the positive commit button label to indicate that the dialog box presents a reason not to proceed and that users should read the dialog carefully before proceeding.
In this example, "anyway" is added to the commit button label to indicate that users should proceed carefully. Use Cancel or Close for negative commit buttons instead of specific responses to the main instruction. Quite often users realize that they don't want to perform a task once they see a dialog box. If Cancel or Close were relabeled to specific responses, users would have to carefully read all the commit buttons to determine how to cancel.
Labeling Cancel and Close consistently makes them easy to find. Don't map generic labels to their specific meaning with text in the content area. Instead, use specific commit button labels, or a question dialog using links if the labels are lengthy.
Prefer specific responses to Yes and No buttons. While there's nothing wrong with using Yes and No, specific responses can be understood more quickly, resulting in efficient decision making.
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