Re: Possibly Stupid question: Blocking events to parent window

[Ilan Volow <raskinite yahoo com>]

> I think gtk_window_set_modal() will do that. The GTK
> reference manual
> at developer.gnome.org is your friend.
>
> Ps: Modal Dialogs are an atrocity inflicted upon us
> by Microsoft and
> should generally be viewed as Satanic.

The general rule about modal dialogs is that you
should use them only if it is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY
that users don't interact with other items outside the
dialog. A dialog that pops up when the user quits the
program that asks the them whether they want to save,
not save, or cancel the "quit" operation is a prime
candidate for being modal--if the user is not forced
to make a decision about saving/quitting before they
do anything else, they might lose valuable data. In
most cases, however, you should restrict the user's
actions outside the dialog as little as possible, and
only restrict only those actions and controls relevent
to the dialog. On the few rare occasions the modal
dialog is necessary, be sure NOT to COVER UP important
information outside the dialog that is relevant to
actions performed inside the dialog. Case in point: I
had the extreme fun of installing Redhat 7.0 today,
and the disk druid dialog for changing the partition
mount point, sizes, etc was modal. Which was the
correct choice. Unfortunately, that modal dialog
covered up the listing of other partitions that
included the other partitions' mount points, sizes,
etc. The information *outside* the dialog was relevant
to making important decisions *inside* the dialog, and
it was covered up! Do not do this. Ever. I've got a
good mind to drive out to Meridian and give somebody
40 lashes with a wet noodle ;) 

--Ilan

My apologies for the off-topic essay, but improperly
used modes are one of the most user-hostile UI devices
that exist. I can't in good conscience let this one go
without saying anything.

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