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Motif and CDE 2.1 Style Guide Certification Checklist

Secondary Window

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Display a secondary window when the user activates a dialog choice or, more generally, to allow the user to further specify information that is needed to complete a request.

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Use a secondary window to display a message.

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Use a secondary window to show properties associated with an object or other element.

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Use a secondary window to hold a tear-off control.

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Use a secondary window when a More choice provides access to additional controls.

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Do not show unavailable emphasis on a dialog choice that caused the display of a secondary window just because the window is still displayed.

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Support the following four modes of interaction with secondary windows:

Modeless
Allows interaction with the secondary window and all other windows, unless the secondary window was activated by a dialog choice in a modal window. In that case, limit interaction to windows displayed subsequent to the activation of the dialog choice.

Primary modal
Does not allow interaction with any ancestor of the window.

Application modal
Does not allow interaction with any window created by the same application except for this window and its secondary descendants, even if the application has multiple primary windows.

System modal
Does not allow interaction with any window on the workspace. This includes windows from all other applications and any window icon view. To indicate a system modal secondary window, the pointer should change shape to a caution pointer whenever it leaves the system modal secondary window.

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Do not display a secondary window as a system modal window unless your application is a manager application that requires that the user be restrained from performing any other desktop operation.

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Do not display a secondary window as an application modal window unless the task in progress in your application requires that the user be restrained from changing the state of the application in any way.

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Do not allow a modal secondary window to be resized or maximized.

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If your application provides an Apply push button with a secondary window, provide an OK push button that, when activated, performs the default action for the secondary window and then closes the secondary window.

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Place the controls that the user can activate and that affect the contents or layout of the secondary window at the bottom of the secondary window.

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Remove a secondary window when the user closes or minimizes the primary window it depends on.

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Do not remove a secondary window just because the primary window it depends on loses input focus, except possibly those containing torn-off controls.

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If a secondary window is open when its associated primary window is closed or minimized, display that secondary window when its associated primary window is reopened or restored.

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When a secondary window is closed, close any secondary windows dependent on it. However, do not affect the associated primary window or any window that the secondary window is dependent on.

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If a secondary window can be stacked below its associated primary window, place it so that it will not be completely covered by the primary window.

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