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The following table provides a list of the basic user interface terminology that is used throughout this document:
Term
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What Does it Mean
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Component
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Any 'object' including menus, buttons, text fields, grids, and many others.
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Icon
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An icon is a small image that represents a function. They are normally used on button, menus, and special field types. The image should give you a graphical representation of what you should expect its underlying component to do when you click on the icon. An example of an icon is the check mark that appears on the Ok Button. It seems to say "everything is ok".
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Form
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A form is any panel with a caption bar and one or more components. It may also be referred to as a 'window'.
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Modal Form
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A form is said to be modal when the user must close the form by selecting either the OK button or the Cancel button on the form before any other action(s) in the application can take place.
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Focus
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The component that is currently 'active' is said to have focus. This means that the next action that the user performs with the mouse or keyboard (a keystroke for example) will occur on the component with the focus.
This is not to imply that the action taken by the user will actually do anything to the component. For example, pressing the letter 'a' while a button has focus will not likely invoke any action by the button. However, entering the letter 'a' in a text field will enter the letter 'a' into the field.
Some actions such as moving the mouse pointer over a different component will cause the focus to move to the component 'under' the mouse pointer.
A component can receive the focus by:
| • | Tabbing to the component |
| • | Pressing enter and having the program move focus to the next component on the form |
| • | Clicking the mouse on a different component |
| • | Setting the focus to a component programmatically |
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Tab Order
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The "sequence" of fields on the form or window. The focus will go to the next component in the Tab Order when Tab is pressed. It will go to the previous component in the Tab Order when Shif+Tab is pressed.
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Enabled
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A component may be visible on the form but not enabled.
If a component is disabled:
| • | Data cannot be keyed into it |
| • | It cannot have the focus |
| • | It is not in the Tab Order (cannot be tabbed to) |
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Context
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Frequently, a component, form, or application will behave differently depending on how a function is accessed. For example, word processors behave very differently when a document has been opened as opposed to when there is no open document. In the "open document" mode or context, functions that edit, copy, paste, cut, and delete text are available. These functions are not available when the word processor is running but no document is open.
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Wizard
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A set of forms that steps the user through a complicated function.
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