Behavior of close button and X

Question

If a window has both a Close button and an X on the upper right corner, should clicking each of these have the same behavior?

I am working with a vendor file transfer application. There is a windows that allows me to select the file to transfer. Once the file is selected, it launches a second windows to initiate the transfer by clicking Upload or Download. This is the window that has both a close button and the X button. When Close is clicked, it only closes the transfer window but leave the file selector window open. When X is clicked it closes both the transfer windows and the file selector window.

I've asked the vendor to make both button actions consistent (ie. close both windows) but they are telling me this is as designed. My end users are getting confused as leaving the file selector window open makes them think there is another action required. Is it standard best practice to have both Close and X buttons do the same thing?

Answer 1

The [x] buttons on windows is meant to close the window.

A [Close] button is meant to close the window.

So, yes, they are meant to do the same thing.

The operation of closing a window in some cases (a) closes the app, (b) in some cases minimizes the app (or hides it altogether) and (c) in some cases closes only that window.

Examples:

• (a) A single window app may exit on window close.
• (b) An app that does things in the background e.g. downloader may minimize on window close.
• (c) Closing an open/save file dialog does not exit the app, but does abort the open/save operation.

If your application has multiple windows, then closing one should only cause that window to close or abort the user-process that that window represented. An exception for this may be closing the main window, which should close the entire application.

Answer 2

The ideal solution for this, given the long standing traditions of the X and close buttons as mentioned by Danny Varod, is to have the X close just the window, leaving the file selector window open still, and a 'Cancel Transfer' button (or something similar) that cancels the entire process, closing both windows. This would be most consistent with the traditional OS uses of the buttons, as well as the most intuitive to the end user.

Answer 3

First, I agree that as long as both close options exist, they should do the same thing. Otherwise, it looks like a bad design in my eyes. But, further than this, I see no reason for having this ambiguity where both buttons are doing the same thing. The only reason I see for adding a "proprietary" Close button is to refer the user to the other options available. For example, by having a buttons panel with Cancel and Close buttons, user will understand that closing the application does not cancel the operation. But then, when you want the user to close via the buttons panel, I see no reason of living the [X] close option.

Answer 4

Close button and the "X" control on the upper right corner of the window must perform the same action: close the window. Although official guidelines state that close button is supefluous, most of users prefer to see a seperate control that clearly defines the intended action, which is not very clearly defined as "X" button is used in all types of windows such as confirmation dialogs (where the "X" button usually means cancel).

In your described case, the result of clicking either "Close" button or "X" button must be the same: close the transfer window.