Glossary

action button A button that initiates the action associated with a dialog box; Save, Open, and Choose are common examples. The action button is often, but not always, the default button. See also default button .

alert box A dialog box that appears on screen to warn the user or to report an error.

Appearance Manager The part of Mac OS that manages all aspects of user interface appearance and themes, including controls, sounds, and color data.

banner In a dialog box, an application-defined static text field that provides a specific prompt to the user.

bevel button A control that resembles a square, beveled push button. It can take the behavior of other controls, such as radio buttons, checkboxes, push buttons, and pop-up menus.

browser list A list box that displays file objects for navigation and selection.

CFM-68K Runtime Enabler A Mac OS system extension that provides Code Fragment Manager services to non-PowerPC-based systems.

control An onscreen object that the user can manipulate by using the mouse or keyboard equivalents in order to cause instant action with visible results or change settings to modify a future action.

current location The folder or volume whose name appears as the title of the Location button and whose contents are being displayed in a dialog box's browser list.

customization rectangle The area in a dialog box that is available for application-defined items.

default button In an alert or dialog box, the button whose action is invoked if the user presses the Return key or the Enter key. The Appearance Manager identifies the default button by drawing a ring around it. The default button should invoke the preferred action which, whenever possible, should be a "safe" action - that is, one that doesn't cause loss of data.

default location The folder or volume whose contents are displayed in the browser list when a dialog box is first opened.

deferred translation The process of saving a file in native format and waiting to provide translation until the user closes the file.

desktop The onscreen background upon which all applications display their user interface. The desktop is composed of the objects in the startup volume's desktop folder plus the icons of all other mounted volumes.

dialog box A box that appears on the screen to solicit information from the user or to report that the computer is waiting for a process to complete.

disabled A menu item or control that cannot be chosen; the item may appear dimmed.

disclosure triangle A control that expands a view to disclose additional information about the item being viewed.

drag region The frame of a window, including the title bar and window outline, but excluding the close box, zoom box and size box. Dragging inside this region moves the window to a new location and makes it the active window (unless the user is holding down the Command key).

editable text field A rectangular box inside a dialog box in which the user enters text to provide information to an application.

file object A file, folder, or volume.

focus ring A border that highlights the currently active edit text field or scrolling list in a dialog box in order to indicate to user which item has keyboard focus. The focus ring appears in the current accent color. See also keyboard focus.

Help menu The menu that provides access to on-screen help information.

highlight To make something visually distinct, typically when it's selected. This is generally done by reversing black and white or changing colors to provide a sharp contrast.

invisible file A file that the Finder does not normally display to the user.

keyboard equivalent Keystrokes that invoke a corresponding menu command. A keyboard equivalent is usually a combination of one or more modifier keys and a character key.

keyboard focus A property that determines which control in a dialog box will receive all keystrokes. The user can change keyboard focus by using keyboard navigation or clicking. See also focus ring.

keyboard navigation In a dialog box, moving the keyboard focus by pressing the Tab key. See also keyboard focus.

kind string The string displayed in the Kind column in a Finder window's list view.

list box A control that combines a rectangular frame, one or two scroll bars, and a scrolling list.

modal dialog box A dialog box that puts the user in the state or "mode" of being able to work only in the dialog box. The user cannot move a modal dialog box; it can be dismissed only by clicking its buttons. Compare modeless dialog box, movable modal dialog box.

modeless dialog box A dialog box that resembles a document window without a collapse box. The user can move a modeless dialog box, make it inactive and active again, and close it like a document window. Compare modal dialog box, movable modal dialog box.

movable alert box An alert box with a title bar that allows the user to move the alert box.

movable modal dialog box A modal dialog box that has a title bar (with no close box) that allows the user to move the dialog box. Compare modal dialog box, modeless dialog box.

multiple selection Selecting more than one item in a scrolling list, usually by Shift-clicking or Command-clicking.

Navigation Services An application programming interface that allows your application to provide a user interface for navigating, opening, and saving Mac OS file objects.

native file type A file type that an application identifies as one it can open without requesting additional translation.

object filtering The process of determining whether a file object should be displayed to the user.

'open' resource A Translation Manager resource that declares which file types an application can open.

persistence The ability to recall the user-set properties of a dialog box after it has been closed.

pop-up menu A menu that appears somewhere other than the menu bar. A pop-up menu opens when the user presses the control that the menu is associated with, which is usually a pop-up menu button or a bevel button.

pop-up menu button A button that, when pressed, presents a pop-up menu. The button's label indicates the current menu setting.

preview area The area of an Open dialog box reserved for drawing previews of files selected in the browser list.

rebound The ability of a file browser to recall the location last viewed. See also default location .

scrolling list A list of user-selectable items that can be scrolled if it is longer than the available display area.

Shift-click To click while the Shift key is down. The Shift key modifies what a simple click does in a given situation - for example, when a user is selecting items in a list, Shift-clicking extends or shortens the selection.

size box A box in the lower-right corner of some active windows. Dragging the size box resizes the window.

sort key Data associated with a file that can be used to determine display order in a browser list. Sort keys commonly include filename, date, and kind. See also sort order .

sort order Determines whether files in a browser list will be displayed in ascending or descending order. See also sort key .

Standard File Package The part of the Mac OS system files that provides a way for users to identify files to open and save. Starting with Mac OS 8.5, Standard File Package is superseded by Navigation Services.

type pop-up menus The collective name for pop-up menu buttons appearing below the browser list in Navigation Services dialog boxes. Type pop-up menu buttons include the Show button in Open dialog boxes and the Format button in Save dialog boxes.

type selection The ability to select an item from a list of items by typing the first character or characters of the item's name.

volume A portion of a storage device that is formatted to contain files.