a dialog that prevents interaction with the rest of the GUI until it is dismissed.
207
votes
12answers
36k views
Should I use Yes/No or Ok/Cancel on my message box?
Semantically, the Yes/No buttons are roughly equivalent to the Ok/Cancel buttons, but in general what would you recommend to use? Should I always use Yes/No or always use Ok/Cancel? Or does it depend ...
35
votes
11answers
3k views
Can an OK button do nothing?
I guess the answer is probably "just be consistent" but if not I could use some fodder for arguments for and against.
Here's the scenario
A dialog box with a list of things to choose
Something ...
33
votes
5answers
1k views
What research is there suggesting modal dialogs are disruptive?
It seems "Everyone" knows they're highly disruptive for many situations but often times clients don't. Particularly in desktop applications this form of dialog is often misused, often disrupting a ...
32
votes
9answers
1k views
Drawing users' attention to unrecoverable actions?
We're working on an internal business app, and throughout the process the users have been very involved in all aspects of the design. They have explained their workflow, terminology, etc. and the app ...
31
votes
9answers
3k views
The Usability of “Lightbox UIs”
Lightbox UIs are becoming a lot more prevalent in mainstream web-design. You know the drill -- click on a link, the background fades darker, and up pops a UI for interacting with an object, making a ...
24
votes
7answers
2k views
When should you use a modal dialog box?
There seems to be an increasing use of modal dialog boxes on the web, but when should you use them? Why would you choose to use them instead of inline controls or another page, and when should you ...
20
votes
7answers
649 views
Why are software EULAs typically displayed in a tiny non-adjustable box with lots of scrolling?
From my experience whenever I have to install a piece of software I'm presented an end-user license agreement (EULA) in the following way:
Specifically the EULA is a long text in legalese and I ...
16
votes
9answers
473 views
Should alert boxes be avoided at any cost?
Thanks to Gabriel Svennerberg and Sam K for this one - raised in a comment here.
I was fairly casual about alert boxes until a run of user tests where an alert box was put up to warn learners that ...
16
votes
4answers
1k views
Good alternatives for replacing multiple nested modal dialogs?
Having a mature and good-selling Windows desktop application, we are focusing on improving the user experience for the next release.
One thing that I try is to get rid of multiple nested modal dialog ...
16
votes
6answers
652 views
Solving the “accidental confirm” problem with dialog boxes
The scenario is all too common: An application brings up a dialog box while you are typing, and you hit the space key before you even realize what's happening. The dialog is gone and you have no clue ...
15
votes
8answers
892 views
When to use darkened backgrounds behind modal windows?
I am creating a modal window that will instruct a user to sign in a present a form to do so. I am debating between whether I should darken the screen behind the modal window as well, or if that effect ...
15
votes
4answers
2k views
Inline editing or modal popup
I'm interested to know what would be best the option from a UX perspective. I have a table in which i need to decide if i should edit each row with inline editing where you can click on each item in ...
14
votes
7answers
398 views
Nagging the user with double message box for something that is important.
When our software is installed, it installs some networking components. It may run fine immediately after the install, but chances are that some applications won't be able to talk to the network until ...
13
votes
6answers
656 views
Do people like/hate popups, even if they're useful?
My company's product is a popup modal widget that shows information
about different terms mentioned in blogs, when hovering over a term
As lead designer, I find myself wondering if that's the best ...
12
votes
8answers
1k views
What are some alternatives to the phrase “Are you sure you want to XYZ” in confirmation dialogs?
I don't like seeing the word 'you' in the message twice. Examples:
Are you sure you want to delete this item?
Are you sure you want to continue?
11
votes
2answers
233 views
Should there be a difference in the relative sizes of the buttons in a confirmation dialog?
I understand the idea behind having the more likely to be used action on a page slightly larger or in a different style in order to guide the user to it (for example having a button for save but a ...
10
votes
6answers
828 views
Closing modal dialogs
I come across modal dialogs everyday and I see different implementations all the time.
Most modal dialogs have a [X] in the upper right hand corner of the dialog along with a Cancel/Close button. ...
10
votes
4answers
856 views
Should Dialogs be avoided in modern applications?
I have used a few dialogs on the last system I designed. The application was a business application with many database tables and I used many datagrids to show data. It was common that I placed a ...
10
votes
4answers
527 views
Taxonomy Hierarchy Management UI Pattern
Overview
I have a custom lightweight web CMS I am developing. It has a feature that allows business users to define hierarchical taxonomies, add/edit/delete nodes, change their sort order relative ...
9
votes
6answers
2k views
Save/Cancel/Close button behavior question
The attached image shows a dialog with a save/cancel button bank and a "x" icon to close the dialog. The question I have is this. Should the cancel button even be on the modal if it does not ...
9
votes
4answers
732 views
Is a cancel button necessary in a windows form?
After reading the question "Is a cancel button necessary for a web form?", I still ask myself, whether the same applies to a Windows form/dialog box.
Consider the following dialog box:
Compared to ...
9
votes
4answers
2k views
Login/sign-up in modal dialogs
I've been working on a web-platform for some time now.
As I was writing the usual "Sign-up" and "Login" pages I realized that a whole page was an overkill for such simple tasks so I decided to put ...
9
votes
3answers
1k views
What are lightbox / modal window UI best practices for viewing full-sized images in a gallery?
I'm an artist and amateur web designer.
On my portfolio website, I've grouped my work into projects. Most of my projects contain few (20 or less) images, so I just display them in full size and let ...
8
votes
3answers
283 views
When should a messagebox be used?
When I started in programming, there was a manual with a number of GUI guidelines. The input fields were color coded. For instance, a mandatory field would be yellow and an ordinary field would be ...
7
votes
6answers
640 views
Wizard or Tab ?
When I want to make an input dialog with lots of input field, do I need make the dialog in wizard style
or tab style?
Any suggestions?
7
votes
2answers
383 views
What is modal about a modal dialog?
I'm reading a lot about modal dialogs.
I know(?) what modal means, having read Raskin's "The Humane Interface". I can understand what's modal about a toolbar in a drawing program (select mode, draw ...
7
votes
3answers
482 views
How to better name modal buttons “Cancel Request” (submit), “Cancel” (cancel)? [duplicate]
One modal-box asks the user wether they want to really cancel the request. Now there are two buttons (submit) and (cancel), but how to best name them? All other modals use text like "proceed" (submit) ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
How can one improve accessibility of modal windows in a browser?
How do modal windows implemented using, for instance, jQuery plugins affect the accessibility of the website? If it leads to poor accessibility, can it be mitigated? Is the only way to avoid using ...
6
votes
4answers
330 views
Should we keep image popup after page refresh?
Simple scenario: User visits site and clicks on small image to enlarge it - large image opens in popup with transluscent dark overlay.
When user refreshes the page or shares the link, should the ...
6
votes
3answers
199 views
Tabbar inside Modal View - iPhone
Is it ok to have TabBar in Modal view in iOS UI (iPhone)?
I have a "Select Contact" view in my app and I plan to make it as modal view.
But "Select Contact" is a set of views: "Favourites", ...
5
votes
6answers
269 views
Are Mailing list popups bad usability
I had a client request that they wanted a mailing list popup like the example given below where the popup is presented to the user as soon as they land on the site
I am a little concerned about the ...
5
votes
2answers
513 views
Best way to do 'bulk edits' on a table
I am building a web application for managing a list of products (using jqgrid).
I need my users to be able to perform several 'bulk actions' on whichever products they select. I have copied Gmail ...
5
votes
2answers
67 views
Focus the form and block anything else?
In order to disable everything else on the website and focus the user to what they are really doing, I came with the solution of adding a layer over everything except over the current form.
I don't ...
5
votes
1answer
99 views
Scroll in a dialogue overlay (lightbox)
I have been asked to redesign some existing dialogue overlays, which have a lot of options within them. So many in fact, that they're using both vertical tabs and a scrollbar to manage the volume of ...
5
votes
2answers
118 views
Benefits and drawbacks of modal windows
I'm working on a web application and am a little stuck trying to figure out how I should implement signup forms, login forms, contact forms, and payment forms. I can implement all these in either:
...
5
votes
2answers
360 views
Alternatives to pop-up in JSF
Modal pop-ups feel like ugly work-arounds in web applications. They seem to be hard to manage, can have problems with pop-up blockers, and the modality can create user confusion.
What are ...
5
votes
5answers
198 views
What are some ideas to create secondary experience flows inside a modal overlay dialog?
Abstract version
Modals are typically used to get the user to focus on particularly information. But, if there are interactive parts of this information that will cause a slight change in context, ...
5
votes
0answers
119 views
Research on scrolling within modal (web)? pros/cons?
From a web UI perspective, is there any research or defined best practices in regards to scrolling within a modal window? Please provide specific links, studies, etc.
I am of the school that a modal ...
4
votes
5answers
1k views
What is a Modal Dialog Window?
What exactly is a modal dialog window and when should you use it? Are there certain cases where you should refrain from using one?
4
votes
1answer
121 views
Startup screens: “Show this page at startup” vs. “Don't show this on startup”
I'm currently working on an iOS app where the user is presented with a startup screen until the user disables it.
I am insisting that this startup screen should have an already ticked checkbox that ...
4
votes
2answers
108 views
For mobile apps, is it “best” to load data before transitioning screens?
In a mobile application you almost always make some sort of api call to fetch data to populate view elements on a screen. Say I am on a home screen (screen A) and want to transition to a profile ...
4
votes
3answers
296 views
Max height of a modal dialog window
I use a lot of jquery modal dialog windows. I normally try to make sure they are not that tall but I am not sure how much height they should take up. My UI is generally designed for 1024X768 or higher ...
4
votes
2answers
189 views
Adding appointments to a calendar: soft modal vs modal dialog
I'm reinventing the wheel and creating a day-view calendar within my WPF app to facilitate making customer appointments. I'm basing my design off Google Calendar and Outlook. I noticed that both of ...
4
votes
2answers
241 views
Should I use a popup window (lightbox) for edit and viewing details of grid records?
I have a web application that allows the user to immediately do one of two things:
1) Search for records
OR
2) Create a new record
As a result, I have two links in the menu bar called Search and ...
4
votes
2answers
107 views
Are modals usable on smartphones, or is there a better alternative?
I want to make a simple popover (or modal) that allows a user to subscribe to a newsletter (of course only when a user clicks on "subscribe to newsletter", I don't want to be obnoxious). It'll be a ...
4
votes
1answer
115 views
Display form on page, in modal or separate page?
I have an application where users choose assignments to try over the coming days. When they choose an assignment, they state what they expect the outcome of the assignment to be. I'm not sure whether ...
4
votes
1answer
316 views
UI for saving changes in document-based mobile app?
I'm making a photoshop-like image editor (e.g. for drawing pictures and diagrams) for iPhone and Android mobile devices. I'm designing the interface for saving documents with regards to how data loss ...
3
votes
4answers
377 views
What is the best acknowledge UI?
What is the best acknowledge UI? Ie. confirmation by the user.
1) A simple checkbox on a form
or
2) A pop-up with a message and OK/Cancel buttons
3
votes
5answers
218 views
Can text area be used as error/warning/notification output?
Problem.
While developing an enterprise application I faced a problem of communicating various error/warning/notification messages to the user while they are filling out some form or performing other ...
3
votes
3answers
783 views
Should edit details form be in a modal dialog or directly on the page?
I'm building a site that users can login and register on and on the Account Page I am implementing the Edit Details form. My question is, what would be best: the form be right in the page or in a pop ...
