Glossary » Widgets

ellipsis

an ellipsis (“…”) is used at the end of menu items to indicate that additional information is needed before the action of the menu item is carried out, usually by bringing up a dialog box. Dialog boxes that are merely…

end box

buttons at either end of a slider or scrollbar that allow a user to immediately select the minimum and maximum values of the range or scroll to the beginning and end (they are part of the Open Look interface standard,…

expando

a text-input region for pen-based systems that expands when it is tapped, allowing more room for pen-based input. It shrinks back down when it is not being edited to conserve screen space.

favorites list

any shortcut designed to help users mark their favorite items and then revisit/reuse those items quickly, such as the use of bookmark lists to mark favorite web pages or lists of favorite files in file dialogs. Favorites lists are similar…

field

a box for entering text or numbers, usually found in forms and dialog boxes.

floating palette

a window that is subsidiary to the main document window. It has a special small title bar and it floats above standard windows even when it is not the current focus. A floating palette is typically used for options and…

focus ring

a ring surrounding a default button in a dialog box, used to hilite the button and indicate that the button will be activated if the Return or Enter key is hit. In many dialog boxes, the focus can be moved,…

folder / directory

a method of organizing and navigating files on a computer. Files are stored in a folder (or directory) which can also contain subfolders, thus creating a hierarchy of files.

foley button

a button that plays a short sound used for sound effects, e.g. laughter, applause, giggling, coughing, crunching, wind, door-slams, etc.

gauge

a read-only display for indicating a quantity. Gauges are the read-only equivalent of sliders.

gesture

an input method commonly used in pen-based systems -or- a physical movement used in communication such as a hand motion or a facial expression.

1. input method – gestures are pen movements that can be recognized as various symbols…

ghost indicator

an outline image or faded image of an object being dragged, indicating its target location when the dragging ends, while the original image remains at its original location during dragging. Sometimes used when dragging the scroll thumb, windows, or icons.…

ghosting

making an item fade when it is disabled (as when menu items are dimmed when they are currently unavailable); usually called dimming. An uncommon term, not to be confused with ghost indicators.

glyph

any image used in a button or message box; also, a symbol (a diamond, a cross, a smiley face) with a feature that can vary (e.g. size, angle, color) to represent the value of a variable — used in graphs…

gnomon

a miniature view of the principal axes in a 3D coordinate system used to indicate the orientation of the current view in a 3D graphics system. (originally referred to the shadow of the pointer on a sundial)

grab handles

also called hotspot, birdie, or handle; small boxes on the edge of a selected object that can be grabbed and moved to drag or resize the object (or sometimes perform another manipulation, such as rotating the object).

grabber pointer

a pointer in the shape of a flat hand with fingers closed, used to grab and drag graphical objects (different from the hand with fingers spread, which is usually used to pan within the view).

group box

a box that is simply a line or beveled line around a group of controls, usually in a dialog box. The group box is not interactive — it is used solely to help make it clearer to a user how…

heads-up display

an indicator, common in games, like a panel, that appears typically at the top of a display and provides status information.

hierarchical menu

a cascading menu; a menu with items that open up further submenus.

hotspot

the sensitive region of an image, such as the areas that are clickable on an imagemap displayed on a website, or the position on a pointer icon that indicates the exact point that is being pointed at.

hover state

the appearance or behavior of a button or other control while the pointer is over it but the item has not been clicked or dragged; most often used to hilite buttons as the pointer moves across them to indicate that…

I-beam pointer

a pointer in roughly the shape of a capital “I”, used in text-editing to select the insertion point or to specify a range of text by dragging over it.

icon

in computer terminology (as opposed to graphic design terminology), an icon is a small image used most often to represent files or label a button. Much discussion goes into how icons should be designed: the use of line, color, and…

indicator

something that displays information without being able to directly modify it, especially a type of widget that displays status information. Examples include gauges and progress indicators.