ITrack/Control Types

In ITrack many different types of controls are employed to display information to the user and to get information from the user. This article enumerates the common control types a user might be required to interact with in ITrack.

Dialog

Dialogs are windows that exist outside of the main ITrack window that usually have more controls or data on them. They come in 2 general flavors:

Popup Dialog

Pop-up dialogs (also known as modal dialogs) are windows that present the user with information or choices that must be dealt with before the program can continue. Editing or defining a specific piece of information on a screen will sometimes be done inside of a pop-up dialog. Another common type of modal dialog is message boxes, in which the user is presented with a piece of information pertinent to the current situation, and are sometimes required to choose how to proceed.

Non-modal Dialog

Non-modal dialogs (often called floating dialogs or tool dialogs) are windows that exist outside of ITrack, but do not keep the user from interacting with the main program. For that reason, they usually present data that is parallel to what is being presented in the main ITrack window. An example of such a dialog is the picture viewer on the Enterprise search screen.

Button

An example of a button Buttons are controls that are meant to be pressed (clicked) in order to execute a function or make a choice. When buttons have text, often times, a letter of their label will be underlined. If this is true, that letter is a 'hotkey' to that button. Therefore, hitting 'Alt + that letter' will press that button no matter where your focus is. In addition, if you move your focus to a button (by using your arrow keys, tab, shift tab (and enter on most screens)), you can simply press a letter key (or the spacebar) to press the button once its selected.

An example of an invalid button Buttons can sometimes be invalid when the user cannot interact with them. This could be because the object that the button is meant to operate on hasn't been loaded yet, or the user doesn't have permission.

Split Button

Split buttons are a special type of button that serve two functions. The first function is essentially a regular button, and the second is a dropdown of options and more specific choices. Hitting the button half of a split button usually executes the default function for the button (such as a normal save), and the dropdown (launched by hitting the black down arrow) will give the user access to advanced options and operations (such as "Save and Print" or "Save and Dont Close").

Icon Button

Icon buttons are buttons with no text that can only be identified by the icon they display. They operate exactly the same as normal buttons, except that they present the user with a pictoral prompt instead of a text-based one. Therefore, any hotkeys associated with these buttons will be described in the manual or in the tooltip text for that button.

Combo Box

Combo boxes (also commonly referred to as dropdowns or dropdown boxes) are a type of control that presents the user with a discrete set of choices that they can choose from. Once a combo box is selected (by clicking on it or navigating with tab/arrow keys), the user can use the up/down arrows to choose the previous/next options in the combo, click on the black down arrow to see a list of all options, or type in the option they want. This third option to type in something not currently in the combo is only available in some combo boxes. A quick way to find the option you want is to hit the dropdown button and begin typing the option you want to choose, then hit enter to finalize the choice.