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Motif and CDE 2.1 Style Guide Reference

Action Message

Reference

Description

An action message is a message displayed in a secondary window that indicates a condition has occurred that requires a response from the user. The user can correct the condition and then continue, withdraw the request, or get help.

There are three kinds of action messages: question messages, warning messages, and error messages.

Question messages
Gets a response to a question. Display question messages when the user's immediate attention is not required, such as when the user's data will not be lost or deteriorate with time.

Warning messages
Alerts the user to a possible danger. Display warning messages to give the user one last chance to retract an operation that is potentially destructive or reversible only with great difficulty.

Error messages
Conveys a message about a critical condition user error. Display error messages when the user's attention is needed to cancel the text or correct the situation.

An action message suspends the task until the message is removed. You can display the message window as an application-modal window if user interaction with the application is to be restricted. At the very least, you should be careful about allowing any change of state that would affect the suspended task. Figure 2 illustrates the types of action messages.

%> Figure 2. Action Message Types


%>

Question Message:

View figure. Warning Message: View figure. Error Message: View figure.

When to Use

Required
Display a question message when the user must respond to a question before continuing the task, but only when the task can be suspended indefinitely without harm and other user activity is unlikely to affect the continuation of the task at a later time.

Required
Display a warning message to alert the user to a possible danger and to allow the user to take some alternative action or to withdraw the task request.

Required
Display an error message when a response is needed before the task can be continued (or if it is likely that other user actions might make the task impossible to continue) and if it is essential that either the situation be corrected or the task canceled.

Guidelines

Required
Display the appropriate symbol to the left of each action message as follows (except in cases of bidirectional language support; see Chapter 11):

Question message
?

Warning message
!

Error message
0

Recommended
In a warning message, clearly explain the possible danger that can occur.

Recommended
In an error message, suggest possible actions that the user can take to correct the situation that caused the message to appear. For example: 
Entry must be a hexadecimal value between 0 to 9 or A
 
to F.  Correct entry and choose RETRY.

Recommended
In the text of an error message, indicate the possible cause of the error.

Required
Display an action message in a secondary window.

Recommended
Use a system-modal secondary window to display the message only if the user's immediate attention is required and if any user actions outside of the message window would make it impossible to resume the task or render it meaningless.

Recommended
Use an application-modal secondary window to display the message if the user can correct the situation without interacting with the application or must correct the situation by interacting through the message window.

Recommended
Use a modeless secondary window to display the message if the user cannot correct the situation by interacting through the message window but must interact with the application while the message remains displayed.

Recommended
When the user cancels a task, leave the objects or data in a form that is meaningful to the user. For example, when the user requests that an object be copied, and an error occurs that causes the user to cancel the task while the object is being copied, remove the partially copied object from the target destination.

Recommended
Provide controls in the message window that allow the user to correct the situation that caused the message to appear or to request a related alternative action. For example, provide a text-entry field in which the user can correct a value, such as the name of the printer to use for printing a document.

Recommended
Provide a Retry push button that allows the user to continue or retry the task after correcting the situation that caused the message to appear. In an error message about a paper jam on the printer, provide a Retry push button that the user can activate after clearing the jam.

Recommended
Provide a Cancel push button that allows the user to withdraw the task.

Recommended
Provide a Help push button that allows the user to access the Help information about the task. For example, provide a push button labeled Help that explains how to unjam the printer.

Recommended
Provide at least the following choices in a question message:

  1. Yes and No (or other appropriate set of answers)

  2. Cancel (optional, use only if all the other choices perform some action)

  3. Help

    4. Recommended
    Provide the following choices in an error message:

    1. One choice or two choices labeled Retry and Cancel

    2. Help

      3. Essential Related Topics

      For more information, see the Cancel (Action and Choice), Information Message, Message, Push Button (Predefined), and Warning Signal reference pages.

      Supplemental Related Topics

      For more information, see Chapter 4.

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