Editing Dialog box (section)

{{short description|User interface element}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2020}}

[[Image:Dialog1.png|thumb|right|300px|Example of a dialog box of [[gedit]].]]

In [[computing]], a '''dialog box'''{{efn|Sometimes {{gloss|dialogue box}} in [[British English]], though non-standardly<ref>{{Cite encyclopaedia|last=DeRespinis |first=Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V7NWEu_bLXsC&pg=PA322 |encyclopedia=The IBM Style Guide: Conventions for Writers and Editors |date=2012 |publisher=IBM Press |isbn=978-0-13-210130-1 |language=en|page=322|title=dialog box}}</ref>}} (also simply '''dialog''') is a [[graphical control element]] in the form of a small window that communicates information to the user and prompts them for a response.

Dialog boxes are classified as "[[Modal window|modal]]" or "modeless", depending on whether they block interaction with the [[software]] that initiated the dialog. The type of dialog box displayed is dependent upon the desired [[user interaction]].

The simplest type of dialog box is the [[Alert dialog box|alert]], which displays a message and may require an acknowledgment that the message has been read, usually by clicking "OK", or a decision as to whether or not an action should proceed, by clicking "OK" or "Cancel". Alerts are also used to display a "termination notice"&mdash;sometimes requesting confirmation that the notice has been read&mdash;in the event of either an intentional closing or unintentional closing ("[[crash (computing)|crash]]") of an [[application (computing)|application]] or the [[operating system]]. ([[wiktionary:e.g.|E.g.]], "[[Gedit]] has encountered an error and must close.") Although this is a frequent [[Interaction design pattern|interaction pattern]] for modal dialogs, it is also criticized by [[usability]] experts as being ineffective for its intended use, which is to protect against errors caused by destructive actions,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Raskin |first=Jef |title=The Humane Interface |publisher=Addison Wesley |year=2000 |isbn=0-201-37937-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/humaneinterfacen00rask }}</ref> and for which better alternatives exist.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cooper |first=Alan |title=About Face 2.0: The Essentials of Interaction Design |publisher=Wiley |date=March 17, 2003 |isbn=0-7645-2641-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/aboutface20essen0000coop }}</ref>

An example of a dialog box is the '''about box''' found in many software programs, which usually displays the name of the program, its version number, and may also include [[copyright]] information.