Re: Meaning of "Close" in non-modal dialogs (was: Re: gnome-stock pixmaps)

[famrom ran es (Guillermo S. Romero / unnamed / Familia Romero)]

>Assuming that "affirmative" actions are usually put at the
>left hand side of a dialog box (like the Macintosh style
>guides suggest, AFAIK), and the right-hand side buttons
>get you out of the dialog in a "non-destructive" manner,
>I think that in the case of our "toolbox-like" dialog,
>it should look like
>  [Apply]   [Undo]   [Close]

Yes.

>Whereas the typical non-toolbox "modal" dialog would be:
>  [OK]  [Cancel]

Yes.

>or optionally
>  [OK]  [Preview/Test]  [Cancel]

No. I think this kind of windows are for questions like "Delete file?"
"Close window without saving the file?". Preview a exit? Preview a delete?
Funny.

>We should really decide on a set of general ("high-level")
>style guidelines for this. Or at least adopt one of the
>many existing style guides here. Both for the names and
>meanings of buttons, and for their positions. Although
>I am in fact not sure whether it is necessary to specify
>button positions for anything but basic ("standard")
>dialogs, because most GNOME apps seem to have sufficiently
>complicated (or sophosticated :-) dialogs that would not
>easily fit into a general button positioning scheme.

I say that when you need a window where you can "play" use: Apply-Undo-Close
(and Help).
For those with a question thats takes effect immediate: OK-Cancel or Yes-No
(and of course Help).

Working ways:
OK-Cancel or Yes-No: you decide one option, program responds doing the thing
and closing the window.

Apply-Undo-Close: you can play as many time as you want, you push groups of
changes with Apply and pop them with Undo. There is no autoapply (to keep
consistency). These two buttons are avaliable only when they will be able to
work (so if there is nothing to undo, you can not hit undo).

The problem: Close. Close anytime (without pushing & poping changes) or just
after an Undo or Apply (so what window says is what you see in the rest of
your monitor). The first solution is consistent (Undo undoes Applies)... but
second is too (Undo undoes Applies and uncommited changes, but what you get
when closing is exactly what the window says).

I prefer the Close closes always, cos if I see avaliable Apply that means
that some changes were made but not applied.
Otherwise I will have to click Undo and then Close.
Which is more Undo becomes a a dual task button, undoes applies ("changes
plus button click") and *changes* (changes "without button").

GSR