UI Guidelines: Dialogs

[colin z robertson <c z robertson ndirect co uk>]

I've been looking at the somewhat moribund UI Guidelines document in
CVS and I've made some additions to the section on dialogs in
components.sgml (which previously only contained the section on
informational dialog boxes). I'd be grateful if people on this list
could look over what I've written and make any suggestions for
improvement. Also, if anyone with write access to CVS thinks this
should be added, they should do so.

colin


To replace the current dialog boxes section in
gnome-libs/devel-docs/ui-guide/components.sgml:

    <sect1 id="dialog-boxes">

      <title>Dialog boxes</title>
      
      <sect2 id="modeless-and-modal-dialog-boxes">
        
	<title>Modal and modeless dialog boxes</title>
	
	<para>
	  Modal dialog boxes are those which prevent the user from interacting
	  with any other part of the application while they are visible. They
	  should be used only where it is necessary that the user doesn't make
	  any changes to the state of the program before performing an action
	  with the dialog or closing it.
	</para>
	
	<para>
	  Modeless dialog boxes allow the user to continue to interact with the
	  rest of the application while the dialog is visible. They are
	  generally suitable for tasks such as changing the properties of an
	  object or tool.
	</para>
	
	<para>
	  In general, modeless dialogs are preferable to modal dialogs since
	  they are less intrusive. Dialogs should only be made modal if there is
	  a good reason to do so.
	</para>
	
      </sect2>

      <sect2 id="informational-dialog-boxes">

	<title>Informational dialog boxes</title>

	<para>
	  Informational dialog boxes are those which do not require the user
	  to enter any data or make choices; they are merely for notification
	  purposes.  These dialogs typically only need a label for the user to
	  read and a button to close the dialog.
	</para>

	<para>
	  FIXME: add descriptions of the gnome_dialog convenience functions
	  for informational dialogs (gnome-app-util).
	</para>
        
      </sect2>
      
      <sect2 id="dialog-box-buttons">
        
	<title>Dialog box buttons</title>
	
	<para>
	  Action buttons: Most dialogs will have buttons to perform some kind of
	  action. These should be labelled with a verb to describe the action
	  (they should not be labeled "OK") and positioned to the left of other
	  buttons on the bottom row.
	</para>
	
	<para>
	  "Cancel" button: Where possible, this button should be used on modal
	  dialogs to dismiss the dialog and return the application the the state
	  it was in before the dialog was shown. It should be the rightmost
	  button in the bottom row.
	</para>
	
	<para>
	  "Close" button: Where possible, this button should be used on modeless
	  dialogs to dismiss the dialog without making any further changes to
	  the state of the application. It should be the rightmost button in the
	  bottom row.
	</para>
	
	<para>
	  "Previous" and "Next" buttons: If the dialog contains a sequence of
	  steps (as in a wizard, for example), they should be navigable with
	  buttons labelled "Previous" and "Next". These buttons should be placed
	  next to each other in the same position as would otherwise be occupied
	  by action buttons.
	</para>
	
	<para>
	  FIXME: Does Gnome contain standard components for implementing these
	  buttons?
	</para>
	
      </sect2>

      <para>
	 FIXME: Wizards require a section to themselves. Should there be a
	 principle that dialogs should not be dismissed by controls external to
	 the dialog? 
      </para>
	
    </sect1>

  _____________________________                            ____
  rtnl  http://rational.cjb.net     c z robertson ndirect co uk
  ak    http://kitching.cjb.net                    icq 13294163