Structure of Dialogs

The window of a dialog is divided into various labelled input fields that are used to hold the parameters for an action that is to be performed or for other purposes. A dialog also provides at least two buttons at the bottom: Activating the lower left button named Accept causes all settings to be taken over and the associated action is initiated, while activating the button named Cancel, located at the lower right, causes all changes to be discarded and the action is not performed.

Some dialogs are further spread over multiple cards, because otherwise the window would be too large to hold all fields at once. Navigation between different cards is possible by the use of additional buttons that are provided at the top of such dialogs. The two mandatory buttons are always available.

Field Types

The following types of fields are available:

text

A text input field into which arbitrary text of any length can be entered. Some parameters expect only certain kinds of values, e.g. a number.

text&list

The same as a text input field, but additionally, this field provides a predefined list of certain common values, which can be scrolled through either by using the cursor keys Up and Down, or by performing up-down drag operations with the mouse on the field. A chosen value may finally be edited.

list

A single selection field with a number of predefined values, showing the current value enclosed within parentheses, e.g. (cache). Another value is selected by scrolling through the list until the desired value appears. This may be achieved by using the Space bar or the cursor keys Up and Down, or by clicking with the mouse onto the field. Using the right mouse button scrolls backward.

checkbox

An on-off switch, showing [x] when in on-state and [ ] otherwise. The state of a checkbox can be changed by using the Space bar or by performing a click with the mouse onto the field.

button

A button that is used to initiate some kind of action, showing its label enclosed within sharp parentheses, e.g. <Accept>. Activation of the button is accomplished by invoking the Return key or by doing a single click with the mouse on it.

A checkbox without a label in front of an input field means in general that the value of the associated field is to be used in further processing when the checkbox is marked, otherwise the value of the field is just to be ignored. This feature makes it possible to deactivate particular fields without losing their contents.

Input Focus

In order to be able to change the value of a field or to activate it, the field needs to have the input focus, which is visually indicated by highlighting the corresponding field (list, checkbox, button) or by showing the cursor (text, text&list). Clicking with the mouse onto or into a field is sufficient for it to get the focus, but when using the keyboard, tabbing to the field is required and is performed by invoking the Tab or Shft-Tab key. The Accept button gets initially the focus, so that the settings of a dialog can be accepted quickly when no changes are necessary.

Notation

Within the description of dialogs, the name of the corresponding field as used within the dialog is indicated together with its type in parentheses. In case of fields that have a list attached to them, a list of possible values may be additionally given next to the type. A notation such as (checkbox+text) or (checkbox+text&list) indicates the combination of a checkbox with its related input field.