Re: Control Center must-fix draft

[Maciej Stachowiak <mjs noisehavoc org>]

On 07Sep2001 12:53AM (+0100), Michael Rogers wrote:
> On Thu, Sep 06, 2001 at 01:45:44PM -0700, Adam Elman wrote:
> > >[Help]		[Cancel] [Done]
> > 
> > The problem with "Cancel" in this case is that in an instant-apply 
> > dialog, it's not clear what it should do.
> 
> It should do what it does in a dialog with an Apply button: undo all 
> changes that have been applied, and close the dialog.
> 

That really breaks the usual semantics of cancel, which is to prevent
an operation which has not yet taken place from continuing. The
presence of a Cancel button is generally a signal that an operation
the user has initated has not really taken place yet, which is very
confusing in the context of an instant-apply type dialog.

Note for example that the usual label for an action that reverts
changes in an Edit menu is Undo, not Cancel. Similarly, the File menu
option to go back to the last saved version of a document is "Revert
to Saved", not "Cancel". I really think we should stick to Cancel as
strictly a button that aborts an action, rather than one that undoes
changes.

 - Maciej