User interface style conventions

Window components

The following are window components.

Dialog clients (no menu bar)

Not providing menu bars for all clients may be a tradeoff in CHARM usability because the model is not like the character graphics model which normally depend on a menu of commands for providing actions. The recommendation here is to pay attention to the task flow and make sure the object that is expected to be the first one selected is highlighted. (Customize)

Highlighting

CHARM keeps the amount of highlighting on each screen to a minimum to provide the user with a clear indication of where in the dialog the navigation is currently focused. (Policy)

Only one object on the screen is highlighted at any one time. (Policy)
Highlighting is only used to show the current focus. (Policy)
Button commands, menus and list objects are the only highlighted screen elements (not scroll bars). (Policy)
List objects, button commands, and menus are highlighted only when the list field is the field of focus. (Policy)

For menu bar clients, initial focus is recommended to be in the Menu bar area of the application on the left-most menu choice (Policy). For dialog-style clients, we recommend either a left-to-right initial focus or that the focus be initially set on the action that the user is most expected to take when first entering the client. For dialog style clients, this is highly customizable. (Customize)

Dialog window overlapping for highlighting

Overlap windows in such as way so that the users attention is focused on the currently active window. This aspect of the UI must be carefully designed for a CHARM UI. In your design, wherever possible make all screens large enough so that the layering effect is not intrusive and so the user has a clear indication of the active portion of the screen. (Customize)

Move the top form to cover the focus highlight that is behind the form so the highlight does not show, or, when the second form appears, move any highlight that may show from the first form to a field that is behind the front form. (Policy)