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Motif and CDE 2.1 Style Guide Reference

Secondary Window

Reference

Description

A secondary window is a window dependent on another window, either primary or another secondary, and is used to supplement the interaction in that window.

Figure 57. Secondary Windows.




View figure.

When to Use

Required
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.

Required
Use a secondary window to display a message.

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

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

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

Guidelines

Recommended
Design a secondary window so that resizing or maximizing is not necessary.

Recommended
Allow a window to have any number of dependent secondary windows.

Recommended
If appropriate, allow the user to resize, maximize, or minimize a secondary window that displays a view of an element.

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

Required
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.

Required
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.

Required
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.

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

Required
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.

Required
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.

Recommended
Do not provide a sizing border, minimize or maximize buttons, or a menu bar for a secondary window unless explicitly specified to by the user.

Recommended
Arrange the controls (that the user can activate) in a secondary window in the order of use or of frequency of use, with positive choices first, followed by negative choices, canceling choices, and finally help choices.

Recommended
If the secondary window contains basic controls and the application supports a few advanced controls, hide the controls for these features and provide a More choice to expand the window and display them.

Recommended
If the secondary window contains basic controls and the application supports many advanced controls, provide these controls in a separate secondary window that can be displayed from a More choice on the secondary window with the basic controls.

Recommended
Provide menu cascade buttons within secondary windows only if any other alternative design would harm the layout of the secondary window.

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

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

Required
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.

Required
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.

Required
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.

Recommended
Display a secondary window on top of any window it depends on in the stacking order.

Recommended
Allow the user to move a secondary window.

Recommended
When you display a secondary window and the user does not need to see the information in the associated primary window, center the secondary window vertically and horizontally over the primary window. Be sure that the secondary window is below the title bar and menu bar of the primary window.

Recommended
When you display a secondary window where the user needs to see information or an element in the associated primary window, position the secondary window so that the necessary information or element is displayed.

Recommended
Allow the user to specify a default location, relative either to the screen or the window on which it depends, for commonly used secondary windows.

Recommended
Remove a secondary window when it is no longer needed.

Recommended
If the dialog choice that caused the display of a secondary window is chosen while the window is still displayed, bring the secondary window and its dependent windows to the top of the stacking order without changing their positions.

Recommended
If an application supports multiple primary windows that show the same type of view, but for different information, allow it to share a secondary window between the different primary windows if the secondary window provides functions applicable to all the primary windows.

Essential Related Topics

For more information, see the Primary Window, Push Button (Predefined), and Window Navigation reference pages.

Supplemental Related Topics

For more information, see the Cascading (Choice Type), Dialog (Choice Type), Selection Dialog (Secondary Window), Size Border (Control), and Stacking Order reference pages.

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