Control Windows

The window areas and dialog boxes contain a number of control windows to display and receive information. These control windows are in fact specialized classes of window defined by Presentation Manager. The various types of control window are briefly explained below; complete definitions of the appearance and behavior of each type of control window are given in the IBM Systems Application Architecture CUA Advanced Guide to User Interface Design.

Static Text

This is constant text, displayed in the dialog box for information purposes only; such text does not change from one invocation of the dialog to the next.

This is an area, of a defined size, where a user may enter alphanumeric or numeric data. An application may also place a default entry in an entry field to simplify the user's task of entering information; the user may then edit the existing data or replace it with new data.

Entry fields may be single-line or multi-line.

This is an area which contains a list of items, one or more of which may be selected by the user. If a list contains more information than will fit into the designated area, a list box may contain vertical and/or horizontal scroll bars.

The combo box or prompted entry field is a combination of the entry field and list box types; by default, an entry field is displayed into which the user may enter text. At the right-hand side of the entry field however, is an icon which when selected, causes a drop-down list box to appear below the entry field, containing a list of valid entries. The user may enter a value directly into the entry field or, if unsure, may use the list box to select a valid entry.

This is a square area, surrounded by a border with accompanying text, which denotes an option that may be toggled on and off by the user. For instance, in a text search the option to ignore case may be implemented as a check box.

Radio buttons are small round areas which are usually displayed in groups; a group of radio buttons denotes a series of mutually exclusive options from which the user may select one option only. Making a selection immediately deselects any previous choice. The selected option in a group of radio buttons is indicated by a dark center in the button.

This is a square or rectangular area containing some brief text and surrounded by a border. It denotes an option which may be selected for immediate action. Selections such as "Enter" and "Cancel" to complete or cancel a dialog are normally implemented in this way.

The spin button is used to display a currently selected option from a finite range of options. The items displayed in the spin button control are textual, and may represent any alphanumeric item. It consists of a single-line entry field, and up and down arrows that are stacked on top of one another.

This is a scale with an index which may be moved along the scale using the mouse or keyboard. The slider allows the selection of a value from a contiguous set of values.

This is similar in concept to a group of radio buttons, except that items within the group may be icons, bitmaps or color patches as well as text strings. The value set control window allows the selection of a non-textual item from a set of mutually exclusive options.

A container acts as a repository and provides a mechanism to organize the desktop to suit the requirements of the user. Its basic function is to hold objects such as files, applications and devices represented by icons.

A notebook is a visual component that organizes information on individual pages so that a user can find and display that information quickly and easily. This component simulates a real notebook but improves on it by overcoming the real notebooks natural limitations.

These control windows are defined as child windows with the main window as their parent.

Note also that control windows are not restricted to use in the main window client area, and may also be created within dialog boxes. Control windows are clipped to the boundaries of their parent window according to the same rules as other child windows.