Buttons

A button initiates an action when the user clicks it.

Figure 6.9. Typical buttons in a modal dialog

OK and Cancel buttons as found in a modal dialog

Guidelines

In a dialog, one button may be made the default button, which is shown with a different border and is activated by pressing Return. Often this will be the OK or equivalent button. However, if pressing this button by mistake could cause a loss of data, do not set a default button for the window. Do not make Cancel the default button instead. See the section called “Default Buttons” for more information.

If it does not make sense to have a default button until several fields in the dialog have been correctly completed—for example, both the Username and Password fields in a login dialog—do not set the default button until they have both been completed.