Talk:Dialog box

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[edit] GUI standards for visual aids to distinction between a modal and modeless dialog box?

I just noticed in Excel that there doesn't seem to be any indication of whether a given dialog box is modal (which is certainly the norm), or modeless. I have been conditioned to always assume they are modal and will give me an annoying beep if I click outside it, so I am surprised when I find one that is modeless, for instance the "Source Data..." dialog that is on the context menu that comes up when right-clicking on a chart.

Is there a Windows or other standard for this? Maybe something that is already there that I'm missing? I'll try to remember to look it up and add it in the next few days when I have the time, but it would be best added by someone who is more familiar with the subject. Thanks.

Edit: As I returned to the spreadsheet, I realized that the main dialog box is modal until I click on a series to edit it, at which point my indication is the highlighted selection (the series) on the spreadsheet, so I guess the answer is just poke around till something highlights? Spalding 15:25, Jun 20, 2005 (UTC)

This sounds like a typical Microsoft design - completely ignore any theoretical underpinning to the design of GUI elements and just throw something together that sort of works and hope the user eventually figures it out. If the document is still active when the dialog is up, it should be modeless, pure and simple. If another document is then activated with the dialog on screen it should either update to reflect the new document or deactivate itself. Sounds like they're trying to create a "document modeless" dialog, which doesn't exist as a theoretical element. When a GUI designer is confronted by this sort of situation, it's time to recognise that their fundamental GUI design is broken. Graham 03:32, 26 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Can we get a better example for a dialog box picture?

That one brings back baaaddd memories of the old DOS Abort, Retry, Fail, one of the world's worst error messages! Something like a File Open one, something very commonly used would be best. Spalding 12:47, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

Go for it. Perhaps a Windows user could supply a better screenshot? Graham 03:32, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
I've got a screen shot of a dialog box in Mozilla Firefox 2.0 asking if I want to close the window with the multiple tabs or cancel the action. I'm uploading it pretty soon. edit: done. ;-) --Ampersand2006 ( & ) 22:56, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Modaless vs other terms

This one is addressed to the original editor of this page. Modeless is not the correct term. The opposite of Modal Window is Modaless Window.

I assume it's just a typo and would appreciate if you fix it. 10x.

Just a small comment: the opposite of Modal is Modaless (rather than Modeless). 10x.

I'm pretty sure that the opposite of Modal is actually Non-modal. Furthermore, 'Modaless' looks very wrong and doesn't appear in any dictionary I can find. Modest Genius talk 20:13, 9 March 2007 (UTC)
The win32 MSDN documentation uses the terms "modal" and "modeless". The word "modal" is equivalent to "with mode" as confirmed by wiktionary:modal. Google results: "modeless" 322,000; "non-modal" 190,000; "nonmodal" 49,100; "un-modal" 854; "modaless" 791; "unmodal" 441 -- intgr 20:26, 9 March 2007 (UTC)
Whilst your points are good, I'd just like to point out that neither wikitionary nor numbers of Google hits are reputable sources. Modest Genius talk 00:36, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
Yeah, I'm just providing context. -- intgr 00:43, 10 March 2007 (UTC)



Hi, i had been calling few model dialog boxes. these are working in IE but these are not working in Mozilla. Can any body tell me how solve these problem? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.145.173.2 (talk) 09:01, 12 December 2007 (UTC)