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Motif and CDE 2.1 Style Guide Reference

Cancel (Action and Choice)

Reference

Description

Cancel includes the following definitions:

  1. An action that terminates the current task or user interaction or exits from a special mode and restores the application state, if possible, to that preceding the start of the task, user interaction, or interface mode.

  2. An action choice that invokes the cancel action.

    3. When to Use

    Recommended
    Support a cancel action if a task can be interrupted by the user or the operating environment before irreversible changes are made.

    Recommended
    Support a cancel action if the user enters a mode that would normally terminate with an irreversible change.

    Recommended
    Support a cancel action along every step of a dialog before the final committing step.

    Recommended
    Provide a Cancel choice to close secondary windows other than in-progress messages.

    Required
    Do not provide a Cancel choice within an in-progress message. Provide a Close or Stop choice instead.

    Guidelines

    Required
    If the user invokes the cancel action while a requested task is in progress and is waiting for some input, stop the task and, if possible, undo or do not apply any changes.

    Required
    If the user invokes the cancel action while a requested task is in progress but is not waiting for some input, stop the task and confirm the cancellation with a warning message, unless the operating environment specifies that confirmation is not necessary.

    Required
    If the user invokes the cancel action while some multistep dialog is in progress, terminate the dialog, and do not continue the task that initiated the dialog. If possible, undo any changes to the application state that may have been made during the dialog.

    Required
    If the user invokes the cancel action while some modal interaction is in progress, stop the current interaction, exit from the mode, return to the normal mode of operation specified by the operating environment, and do not apply any changes.

    Required
    Make Cancel the shortcut key for the Cancel choice.

    Optional
    Make Stop the shortcut key for the Cancel choice.

    Essential Related Topics

    For more information, see the Close (Choice) reference page.

    Supplemental Related Topics

    For more information, see the Action Message and Direct Manipulation reference pages.

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