Everything we just talked about is part of the Windows interface. An interface is just anything that goes between two or more things. This interface goes between you and the computer, you could also say that the Operating System is the interface between the hardware and software.
Interface An interface is anything that goes between multiple things. A user-interface goes between you and the computer.
There are some standard things that are on most user-interfaces. We have already talked about one, buttons. These things are called controls. Below is a table of some of the more common controls, starting with buttons:
| Name of control and picture |
Description |
|
(Command) Button |
Buttons (also called command buttons) do something when clicked. |
|
Check box |
A check box turns something on or off. There is a check in the box if it is on, to change it click on it. |
|
Text box |
Also called edit boxes, these boxes let you type text in them. |
|
Radio button |
Also called option buttons, these boxes come in groups, you can only pick one per group. |
|
List box |
These boxes contain lists of things: you can select one. |
|
Combo box |
Also called drop-down boxes these boxes are like text boxes, but they have a button on the side that, when clicked, brings up a list of things that you can pick from. |
|
Spin button |
These buttons increase or decrease numerical values by one when the up or down arrow half is clicked. |
|
Scroll bar |
Click on the arrows at the top and bottom of these bars to move the screen, you can also drag the box that is on the bar. |
|
Label |
Often overlooked , labels don’t do anything, but they sit near other controls with text in them to tell you what those things are. |
You can get a basic description of what any control does by hovering your mouse over it. A little thing with text will pop up. This is called a tool-tip (or a ToolTip).
Besides these there are also menus. Menus all operate the same way as the
These are called main-menus or simply menus. Other menus are opened by right-clicking (pushing the right mouse button over something). These are called popup-menus. In the last chapter, the small windows that came up when we started and shut down the computer we learned were called dialogue-boxes. These are boxes that come up to ask you for information.