Application Modal
Modal dialog boxes are those which temporarily halt the program in that the user cannot continue until the dialog has been closed: the program may require some additional information before it can continue, or may simply wish to confirm that the user wants to proceed with a potentially dangerous course of action (confirmation dialog box). Modal dialogs are generally regarded as bad design solutions by usability practitioners since they are prone to produce mode errors. Dangerous actions should be undoable wherever possible; a modal alert dialog that appears unexpectedly or which is dismissed automatically (because the user has developed a habit) will not protect from the dangerous action.
The main workflow is interrupted when a modal dialog is shown. This effect has either been sought because it focuses on the completion of the task at hand or rejected because it prevents the user from changing to a different task when needed.
Read more about this topic: Dialog Box
Famous quotes containing the word application:
“My business is stanching blood and feeding fainting men; my post the open field between the bullet and the hospital. I sometimes discuss the application of a compress or a wisp of hay under a broken limb, but not the bearing and merits of a political movement. I make gruel—not speeches; I write letters home for wounded soldiers, not political addresses.”
—Clara Barton (1821–1912)