You can choose to deal with them right away, or if you don't do anything, after a certain time they will dismiss themselves. Popup - You don't need to deal with these messages right away, yet at some point you will need to take action since these won't go away until explicitly say say you don't want them around anymore.įlash Notice/Growl Notification - These notifications have a time associated with them. These messages are not locked and you can click anywhere to dismiss the container. These let you do more work without having to show all the information on the main screen. (Example: a button that says 'Invite Friends' will open such a container with a list friends you can then invite).

Modal/Dialog - These are for getting work done. (If you're showing a lot of these it's usually a failure of design because your user's expectations don't match the UI expectations.) The buttons on this window are usually 'OK' or 'Cancel'.

The window/container is usually locked, meaning you can't dismiss the box or continue with what you want to do until you explicitly acknowledge the content, this usually done by clicking a button inside the container.

The different names are based on the attention they deserve, the context you're in, and how you can interact with them.Īlert - These messages need immediate attention. All of these UI components are containers/windows that show on top of the content you are currently viewing/interacting with.

What is popup in browser