A dialog box allows users to select options to perform a task, asks a question, or provides information or progress feedback. Windows Vista® introduces a new standard dialog box, called task dialog, to present choices in a clear and consistent way, with a standardized look and layout.

New in Windows Vista

The task dialog application programming interface (API) enables dialog boxes to:

• Have a cleaner, simpler, better-looking design that improves usability.
• Have a prominent main instruction identifying the user's objective.
• Provide explicit, self-explanatory user responses to the main instruction with either command buttons or command links, resulting in efficient decision making.
• Can use command links, which allow for more expressive options, eliminating the need to use text to map meanings to command buttons.
• Use richer text and layout to create a visual hierarchy that presents information in a well-organized and effective way.
• Have an optional footer area that allows for additional explanations and help, targeted at less-experienced users.
• Have an expandable content area to hide or show optional or less common functionality.
• Have an optional Don't show this <item> again check box.

Why are these changes important?

Dialog boxes are the most fundamental form of user communication. Dialog boxes with a clear main instruction and explicit, self-explanatory commit buttons make that communication much more effective.

The task dialog API enables developers to create well-designed, consistent dialogs boxes efficiently. It is a versatile alternative to the MessageBox API, which has often been used to create dialog boxes that are difficult to understand and use.

Look and feel

Task dialogs and most dialog boxes have these components:

• A title bar to identify the application or system feature from where the dialog box originated.
• A main instruction to identify the user's objective with the dialog, with an optional icon.
• A content area for descriptive information and controls.
• A command area for commit buttons, including a Cancel button, and optional More options and Don't show this <item> again controls.
• A footnote area for optional additional explanations and help.

For more information

• Dialog box guidelines