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The dstool toolkit was written to conform to the SUN Open Look
1#1
conventions whenever possible.
For example, a button labeled with an inverted triangle means that activating the
button opens a menu while a menu entry with trailing ellipses implies
the entry will generate a pop-up window if selected.
We will also use the Open Look nomenclature SELECT,
ADJUST, and MENU when referencing the
mouse buttons. (If your mouse has three
buttons then these are usually the left, middle and right buttons,
respectively.)
In addition the following conventions and notation are used throughout:
- Window title:
- The window title is the text located in the window header.
- Function:
- A brief summary of the window's main purpose within dstool.
- Description:
- Instructions on how to open the window and a
detailed account of the window's behavior when the user
interacts with it.
- Panel items:
- A complete listing of all items located on the window's
control panel, along with a brief description of each item's characteristics.
The terms used in this document are:
- Button: There are four types of buttons used in dstool.
A command button initiates an action. Some actions are
potentially dangerous (e.g., writing data to a file which already
exists) and so the action is accompanied by a notifier which
requests confirmation. The second type of button used is the
menu button which is a button with a label followed by
an inverted triangle.
A menu of options
is available when MENU is selected while the pointer is on this button.
A third
type of button is a window button which consists of a label
followed by ellipsis (...) marks. This button opens a pop-up
window when selected. The last
type of button is known as an abbreviated menu button
and consists only of an inverted triangle. This item functions just
like a menu button.
- Text Fields: A text field is an area where numerical
or alphabetic information may be stored and displayed.
Most text fields are read-write, meaning that the
user may input information into them, but some text fields
are read-only. A text field which accepts only integer values is called a numeric field.
- Message: Similar to the text field is a message. The
program uses messages to display information to the user. A
message is always read-only.
- Settings: A setting is a list of choices.
A non-exclusive
setting presents options which
may be chosen independently, such as selecting data to be saved into a file.
An exclusive
setting is a set of options which are mutually
exclusive, such as the choices ``on'' and ``off.''
A third type of setting is called a stack
setting. It is
related to the exclusive setting in that only one option may be
selected from among the choices, but unlike the exclusive setting,
not all options are displayed at one time. The currently selected
option is displayed next to an abbreviated button; all options may
be viewed by clicking the button with MENU.
- Text Pane: A text pane is a region in which the user may
read, write, edit, and save text.
- Canvas Pane: A canvas pane is a region in which
graphical information is displayed.
Next: The dstool Interface Tree
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root
1998-11-02