Glossary » Widgets

ink text

words entered into a pen-based computer that are saved as electronic ink, not recognized and converted (NewtonOS term).

insertion point

the place where text will appear when a user types, usually marked by a cursor.

intelligent cut and paste

applied to text editing, a version of cut and paste that simplifies selection and saves keystrokes. When a word is selected and cut from a sentence, instead of leaving spaces on either side of the word, one of the spaces…

internal frame

in MDI (multiple document interface) applications, an internal frame is a child window within the primary window and can never be moved outside the primary window.

keyboard

an input device used to enter alphanumeric data. Keyboards differ widely for different languages, and especially different scripts (writing systems). Keyboards may be physical or may be displayed on the screen, which is common for pen-based systems.

keyboard focus

the area or widget on the screen that is currently responsive to keyboard input. The keyboard focus is usually hilited in some way, for instance, with a focus ring around a default button, or the color or details of an…

lasso-tap

circling and tapping on an object with a pen — used as a selection technique in pen-based systems.

latching

the capability of a control to be set in a specific position (or state) and to remain in that position; the opposite of a spring-loaded mode.

lens

a movable region on the screen (such as a large magnifying glass) that transforms information below it. Typical transformations might include magnification, fisheye views, information filters (by showing street names on a map, for instance), and graphics filters (blurring, tinting,…

little arrows

small up and down arrows that are used to increment and decrement a value, such as for adjusting a date or as part of a spin box, which is a text entry field for entering numbers.

live dragging

visibly moving an object as it is being dragged; for instance, moving a slider knob as someone drags it, instead of simply moving the outline of the knob (which is called a ghost indicator).

locator

a general way of referring to any input device or input method for specifying a location (an x,y position) on a screen. Typically includes devices associated with moving a screen pointer, such as a light pen, mouse, trackball, pen or…

logical input device

a hardware-independent way of expressing the functionality of an input device. Also useful as an abstract way of discussing the functionality of widgets on the screen. Though other logical devices are popular (such as a 3D input device), the 5…

maximize control

a box in the title bar of a window that, when pressed, toggles a window’s size between a user-selected size and the entire screen size. Compare this to the zoom box used in Mac OS which is similar but does…

MDI

multiple document interface; an application that consists of one primary application window (the parent window) that contains all the other windows of the application (child windows). The other windows cannot be dragged outside of the main window. This can be…

menu

a set of options to choose from, often presented as a text list, but also sometimes as a set of pictures, audio menus (for instance, in a voice-answering system), or a set of animations or video.

Pulldown and dropdown menus…

menu separator

a line used between menu items to help group related items, and thus permitting faster visual scanning to locate a menu item.

menubar

a row of menu items. Each menu item is a text label (or sometimes an icon) such as “Edit”, which is the title of a dropdown menu, e.g. “Cut – Copy – Paste”. Menus are used for commands in graphical…

minimize control

a box in the title bar of a window that, when pressed, causes the window to disappear, shrinking down to a button in the taskbar (in Microsoft Windows) or to an icon on the desktop in some systems. The button…

mixed state

a condition in which an indicator must simultaneously display 2 values; common in property sheets, in property controls such as font style, when the property is shown for multiple selected objects with different property values (e.g. in a text selection,…

morse code

a method of text entry for those with severe motor impairments. A single working muscle can operate a switch to send a series of dots and dashes as a code for text input. This may be used to control a…

multi-line input

a text entry field that has more than one line for entering information (the field may or may not have an associated scrollbar).

multilingualization

or m17n (m and n separated by 17 letters); the support in a product for multiple languages, especially support for other scripts, writing systems that don’t use the Roman alphabet supported in ASCII.

mutually exclusive attribute group

a set of items where only one item can be selected at a time, such as a group of radio buttons. An example would be a menu with font sizes, where a given letter can only have one font size,…

navbar

navigation bar; a group of buttons or hyperlinks that are used to navigate through a website or through a set of screens. Each button is typically labeled with the title of the page it goes to and/or an appropriate icon.…