Glossary
accent colors User-selectable fill colors for certain interface elements.alert box A dialog box that appears on screen to warn the user or to report an error.
asynchronous arrows A control which indicates through a simple animation that a background process is in progress . Compare progress indicators.
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 menu buttons.
checkbox A square control with a text label that is designed to provide binary choices for users. A checkbox may display on, off, or mixed status. Compare radio button.
clock control A control that combines the features of little arrows and an edit text field into a control which displays a date and/or time.
collapse box A square control which appears on the far right of a window's title bar. Clicking it once hides all of the window except the title bar; clicking it again makes the window reappear.
content region The part of a window which is available for an application to present data or embed controls. Compare structure region.
contextual menu A pop-up menu containing useful commands and assistance specific to the item being pointed at by the cursor.
control An object with which the user, by using the mouse or keyboard equivalents, can cause instant action with visible results or change settings to modify a future action.
control panel A utility accessible through a modeless dialog box. Control panels allow users to configure global or hardware settings or settings that have no visible effect.
default button A button whose effect occurs if the user presses Return or Enter.
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. See also alert box, modal dialog box, modeless dialog box, and movable modal dialog box.
disabled Describes a menu item or control that cannot be chosen; the item may appear dimmed.
disclosure triangle A control that provides a means to expand a view to disclose additional information about the currently selected item.
document window A window that displays the content of a document.
drag region A region around the outside of a window frame. Dragging inside this region moves the window to a new location and makes it the active window.
edit text field A control that appears as a rectangular box inside a dialog box. The user enters text in the edit text field to provide information to an application. Compare static text field.
edit text frame A control that provides a means for non-standard edit text fields to provide Appearance-based features such as focus rings. See also edit text field.
focus ring A colored 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. See also keyboard focus.
full zoom box A zoom box which expands a window in both the horizontal and vertical directions. See also zoom box.
ghost indicator A transparent outline image of a slider indicator that tracks the movement of the pointer while the user holds the mouse button. See also slider.
global controls Controls, such as push buttons, which affect all panes of a multi-pane window, not just the active pane. See also pane.
group box A control that consists of a rectangular frame which may or may not contain a title. It is used to provide a well-defined area in a dialog box into which text, pictures, icons or other controls can be embedded.
Help menu The menu which 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.
image well A control that is used to display non-text visual content on a white background surrounded by a rectangular frame.
keyboard equivalent Keystrokes that invoke a menu item from the keyboard. A keyboard equivalent is usually a combination of a modifier key and a character key. See also keyboard modifiers.
keyboard focus A property that determines which control in a dialog will receive all keystrokes, as selected by keyboard navigation or clicking. See also focus ring.
keyboard modifiers Non-character keys, such as Command, Option, and Control, which can be combined with character keys to form keyboard equivalents. See also keyboard equivalent.
keyboard navigation The ability to select which control in a dialog box has keyboard focus by pressing the Tab key. See also keyboard focus.
list box A control that combines a rectangular frame, scroll bar(s), and a scrolling list.
list box frame A control that provides an Appearance-compliant border for non-standard list boxes. See also list box.
little arrows A control that displays a pair of arrows, typically accompanying an edit text field containing a numerical value. Users click the arrows to increment or decrement the value in the text box.
live dragging The constantly updated display of the changing values of a slider. Compare ghost indicator.
mixed state The condition of a control, such as a radio button or checkbox, that occurs when the selection indicated by the control contains some data in the on state and some in the off state.
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 be clicking its buttons. Compare modeless dialog box and 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 and movable modal dialog box.
modeless dialog frame A control that provides an Appearance-compliant border for the content region of non-standard modeless dialog boxes.
movable alert box An alert box with a title bar that allows the user to move the alert box. Compare 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 and modeless dialog box.
pane One screen of a multi-screen display inside a single dialog box. Panes are generally selected through tab controls. See also tab control.
placard A rectangular control used as an information display.
platinum appearance The default theme for Mac OS 8, which features a "three-dimensional" appearance. See also theme.
pop-up menu button A button that, when pressed, presents a menu. The button's label indicates the current menu setting.
progress indicator A control, consisting of a rectangular frame and a variable length bar, that provides a means of measuring process duration or displaying remaining capacity.
push button A control that appears as a rounded rectangle with a label. When the user clicks a push button, the action described by the label is immediately executed.
radio button A control that displays a setting, either on or off, and is part of a group in which only one button can be set to on at a time.
scroll bar A rectangular bar that may be along the right or bottom of a window or list box. Clicking or dragging in the scroll bar causes the view of the window or list box to change.
separator line A control that provides a way to separate elements in a dialog box with a simple horizontal or vertical line.
size box A box in the lower-right corner of some active windows. Dragging the size box resizes the window.
slider A control that graphically represents a range of values and allows the user to set the values with a slider indicator.
static text field A control that displays static (unchangeable by the user) text labels in a window. Compare edit text field.
sticky menu A menu which will remain open after the mouse button is released or the pointer is no longer on the menu.
structure region The external region of a window which contains the title bar (if any), drag region, controls, and border. Compare content region.
tab control A control that appears as a row of folder tabs on top of a pane. It allows multiple panes to appear in the same window. See also pane.
theme A coordinated set of human interface designs that determine the appearance of human interface objects on a systemwide basis. See also platinum appearance.
tick marks Indicator marks on a slider which provide a scale against which relative movement of the slider indicator can be measured. See also slider.
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.
utility window A type of box that has some but not all features of a regular window. A utility window has a bar at the top by which it can be dragged and a close box, but it does not necessarily have a title and is nonscrolling.
window header A control that runs along the top of a window's content region and provides information about the window's contents.
window list view header A type of window header designed to fit between a standard window header and the content region of a window. See also window header.
zoom box A control that appears as a box in the title bar. It provides a quick means of expanding the window ("zooming") horizontally, vertically, or in both directions. See also full zoom box.