[Contents]
[Index]
Glossary
- acceleration
- A temporary change in the mouse pointer gain.
- accelerator
- A key or sequence of keys (typically a modifier
key and some other key) that provides a shortcut,
immediately accessing a program function.
- activation
- Invocation of a component's primary action. For
example, the user activates a PushButton by
pressing BSelect on the PushButton.
- anchor
- A position in a collection of selectable objects
that marks one endpoint of an extended selection
range.
- application modal
- A state of a window in which interaction is
limited to that window and windows outside of that
window's application
- apply
- A label given to a PushButton in some DialogBoxes
that performs the action of applying the current
changes in the DialogBox without closing the
DialogBox.
- autorepeat
- A means of PushButton activation where a mouse
button is pressed and held on a PushButton and the
PushButton continues to activate at regular
intervals until the mouse button is released.
- browse Selection
- A selection model that allows browsing through
single selection collections.
- button
- A button on a mouse pointing device; mouse buttons
can be mapped to the keyboard. A graphical
component on a window frame or in a DialogBox that
works by pressing it.
- cancel
- A label given to a PushButton in some DialogBoxes
that performs the action of closing the DialogBox
without implementing any changes.
- cascading Menu
- A submenu that provides selections that amplify
the parent selection on a Pulldown or Popup Menu.
- CheckButton
- A component used to select settings that are not
mutually exclusive. The visual cue to the
selection is frequently that the button is filled
in or checked.
- click
- To press and release a mouse button. The term
comes from the fact that pressing and releasing
most mouse buttons makes a clicking sound.
- client area
- The area within the borders of a primary window's
frame that is controlled by an application.
- clipboard
- Any device used to store text or graphics during
cut-and-paste operations.
- close
- A label given to a PushButton in some DialogBoxes
that performs the action of closing the DialogBox.
Close is also used as a selection in Menus to
close the window associated with the Menu.
- control Panel
- An area of a window, similar to the control panels
in real life, that is used to hold PushButtons and
other graphical components.
- cursor
- A graphical image, usually a pipe (|) or block,
that shows the location where text will appear on
the screen when keys on the keyboard are pressed
or where a selection can be made.
- desktop
- See workspace.
- destination
- The location at which transfer actions place data.
- DialogBox
- A secondary window that the user can display and
that contains application components.
- dimmed selection
- A selection that is not currently available.
- discontiguous selection
- A selection model that allows multiple
discontiguous selections.
- double-click
- To press and release a mouse button twice in rapid
- succession.
- drag and drop
- A transfer mechanism where data is dragged from a
source to a drop site using mouse motion.
- drag icon
- A graphic that is generated using pixmaps and is
moved during a drag operation. The drag icon is
composed of a source pixmap, a state cursor, and
an operation cursor.
- drag transfer
- See drag and drop.
- drop site
- An area of the screen on which the user can drop a
drag icon.
- expert activation
- A means of activation where double-clicking on a
PushButton activates a different action from
clicking the PushButton.
- explicit focus
- A keyboard focus model that sends keyboard events
to the window or component that was specified
explicitly with a mouse button press or a keyboard
event.
- focus
- A state of the system that indicates which
component receives keyboard events. A component
is said to have the focus if keyboard events are
sent to that component.
- focus policy
- The model by which keyboard focus is moved among
components. See also explicit focus, implicit
focus.
- gain
- The ratio of the distance the pointer moves to the
distance the mouse moves.
- grayed selection
- A Menu selection that is not currently available
and so has been dimmed.
- help
- A label given to a PushButton in some DialogBoxes
that performs the action of providing help for the
DialogBox.
- highlight
- A graphic technique used to provide a visual cue
to the current selection or to the current
location of the input focus. Highlighting is
frequently accomplished by reversing the video of
the selection.
- hotspot
- The area of a graphical image used as a pointer or
cursor that is defined as the point of the pointer
or cursor.
- hourglass
- A graphical image used to symbolize the passage of
time and provide a visual cue that the application
is currently performing an operation.
- I-beam
- A graphical image used to represent the location
of the mouse pointer in a text entry box and
providing a visual cue that text can be entered in
- icon
- A small graphical image used to represent a
window. Windows can be turned into icons or
minimized to save room or unclutter the workspace.
- icon box
- A window for organizing icons.
- implicit focus
- A keyboard focus model that sends keyboard events
to the window or component that the mouse pointer
is over.
- insertion cursor
- The graphical symbol that provides the visual cue
to the location of the insertion point.
- keyboard
- An input device consisting of various keys that
allows the user to input data, control cursor and
pointer locations, and to control the dialog with
the workstation.
- keyboard focus
- Indicates the window or component within a window
that receives keyboard input. It is sometimes
called the input focus.
- Label
- The text part of an icon or graphical component.
- list box
- A component that provides users with a scrollable
list of options from which to choose.
- location cursor
- A graphical symbol that marks the current location
of the keyboard input focus for selection.
Typically, this symbol is a box that surrounds the
current object.
- lower
- To move a window to the bottom of the window stack
on the workspace.
- maximize
- To enlarge a window to its maximum size.
- maximize button
- A control button placed on a window manager window
frame and used to initiate the maximize function.
- Menu
- A list of available selections from which a user
chooses.
- Menu system
- A collection of Menus cascading from a single
CascadeButton.
- Menu window
- An application window used to contain a Menu.
Menu windows are transitory.
- MenuBar
- A rectangular area at the top of the client area
of a window that contains the titles of the
standard Pulldown Menus for that application.
- MenuBar system
- A collection of Menus associated with a MenuBar
and the MenuBar itself.
- MessageBox
- The generic name for any DialogBox that provides
information, gives the current state of a work in
progress, asks a question, issues a warning, or
draws attention to an error.
- minimize (iconify)
- To turn a window into an icon.
- minimize button
- A control button placed on a window manager window
frame and used to initiate the minimize function.
- mnemonic
- A single character (frequently the initial
character) of a Menu selection. When the Menu is
displayed and the user presses the key that
corresponds to that character, the Menu selection
is chosen.
- model keyboard
- A fictional keyboard that contains the keys and
key labels described by this guide.
- modifier key
- A key that, when pressed with another key, changes
the meaning of the other key.
,
, and
are modifier keys.
- motion
- Movement of the mouse.
- mouse
- A pointing device commonly used in conjunction
with a keyboard in point-and-click, object-
oriented user interfaces.
- mouse button
- A button on a mouse pointing device. Mouse
buttons can be pressed, released, moved, clicked,
and double-clicked.
- multiclick
- To click a mouse button multiple times without
moving the pointer.
- multimotion
- To press a mouse button multiple times without
moving the pointer and then move the mouse
pointer.
- multiple selection
- A selection model that allows multiple single
selections.
- multipress
- To press a mouse button multiple times without
moving the pointer.
- navigation (traversal)
- An action that causes the focus to move to another
component.
- no
- A label given to a PushButton in some DialogBoxes
that performs the action of answering "no" and
closing the DialogBox.
- OK
- A label given to a PushButton in some DialogBoxes
that performs the action of answering "OK" and
closing the DialogBox without implementing any
changes.
- open
- To start an action or begin working with a text,
data, or graphics file.
- paste
- Inserting data into an area. Pasting is commonly
used in reference to text files where a block of
text is cut from one area and pasted into another
area.
- pause
- A label given to a PushButton in some DialogBoxes
that performs the action of pausing the action of
the DialogBox.
- pointer
- The graphical image that appears on the workspace
and represents the current location of a mouse or
other pointing device.
- pointing device
- A device such as a mouse, trackball, or graphics
tablet that allows users to move a pointer about
on the workspace and point to graphical objects.
- Popup Menu
- A Menu that provides no visual cue to its
presence, but simply pops up when a user performs
a particular action. Popup Menus are associated
with a particular area of the workspace, such as
the client area of an application, and a user must
memorize where these areas are.
- posted
- A state of a Menu where it remains in a visible
state even though a mouse button is not being held
down. See also spring-loaded.
- press
- To hold down a mouse button or a key.
- previewing
- A means of PushButton activation where information
about the impending action of a button release is
displayed on the button press action.
- primary modal
- A state of a window in which interaction is
limited to that window and windows that are not
ancestors of that window.
- primary transfer
- A transfer mechanism where the primary selection
is transferred to the destination.
- primary window
- A top-level window of an application. Primary
windows can be minimized.
- Pulldown Menu
- A Menu that is pulled down from a client
application's title bar.
- PushButton
- A graphic component that simulates a real-life
push button. When a user pushes the PushButton,
by pressing a key or a mouse button, an action
takes place.
- quick transfer
- A transfer mechanism where selected data is
immediately transferred to the destination.
- RadioButton
- A graphic component that simulates the buttons on
a real-life car radio. Each button represents a
mutually exclusive selection. RadioButtons are
typically used for setting states or modes.
- range selection
- A selection model that allows selection of a range
of elements.
- release
- To let up on a mouse button or key that has been
pressed. Sometimes it is the press that initiates
the action; sometimes it is the release.
- reset
- A label given to a PushButton in some DialogBoxes
that performs the action of resetting the initial
state of the DialogBox.
- resize
- To change the height or width of a window.
- resize border
- The window manager window frame part that
surrounds the client area of an application and
that is used to change the height or width of the
window.
- restore
- To return an icon or maximized window to its
normal size.
- resume
- A label given to a PushButton in some DialogBoxes
that performs the action of resuming the action of
a DialogBox previously paused.
- retry
- A label given to a PushButton in some DialogBoxes
that performs the action of retrying the action
whose failure posted the DialogBox.
- save
- To write changes to a data file to a storage
device for safekeeping.
- ScrollBar
- A graphical device used to change a user's view of
the contents of a window. A ScrollBar consists of
a slider, a trough, and scroll arrows. A user
changes the view by sliding the slider up or down
in the scroll area or by pressing one of the
scroll arrows. These actions cause the view to
scroll up or down in the window adjacent to the
ScrollBar.
- secondary window
- A child window of a primary window.
- select
- To choose an object to be acted upon or an action
to be performed.
- selection
- The object or action that is selected. Menus are
composed of selection items. DialogBoxes contain
components, each of which represents a selection.
- single selection
- A selection model that allows selection of a
single element.
- slider
- One of the graphical components of a ScrollBar or
Scale. The slider is the object that is dragged
along the scroll area to cause a change.
- spring-loaded
- A state of a Menu where it remains only as long as
a mouse button is being held down. See also
posted.
- stop
- A label given to a PushButton in some DialogBoxes
that performs the action of stopping the work in
progress indicated by the DialogBox.
- submenu
- A cascading Menu.
- system Menu
- See window Menu.
- system modal
- A state of a window in which interaction is
limited to that window.
- text cursor
- See insertion cursor.
- title area
- The area at the top of the window frame
immediately beneath the resize border. The title
bar has two functions: it contains a title or name
that identifies the window, and it can be grabbed
and dragged to relocate the window.
- title bar
- The bar across the top of a window manager window
that consists of the window Menu button, the title
area, and the window-control buttons.
- transient window
- A window of short duration such as a DialogBox.
The window is displayed for only a short time,
usually just long enough to convey some
information or get some operational directions.
- traversal
- See navigation.
- virtual button
- A model, used by this style guide, which defines
mouse button bindings independent of the actual
number of buttons on the mouse.
- window
- A data structure that represents all or part of
the display screen. Visually, a window is
represented as a subarea of the display screen.
- window decoration
- The frame and window-control buttons that surround
windows managed by the window manager.
- window frame
- The area surrounding a window. A window frame can
consist of a resize border, a window Menu button,
a title bar, and window-control buttons.
- window manager
- A program that controls the size, placement, and
operation of windows on the workspace. The window
manager includes the functional window frames that
surround each window object and may include a
separate Menu for the workspace.
- window Menu
- The Menu that appears when the window Menu button
is pressed. The window Menu typically contains
selections for restoring, moving, sizing,
minimizing, maximizing, and closing the window.
- window Menu button
- The graphical control button that appears at the
left side of the title bar in the window frame.
- window navigation
- Moving the keyboard focus among windows.
- workspace
- The CRT screen. The area on which the windows of
a user's environment appear. The workspace is
sometimes called the desk, desktop, or root
window.
- yes
- A label given to a PushButton in some DialogBoxes
that performs the action of answering "yes" and
closing the DialogBox.