Active Window

NAME

Active Window — Reference

Description

The active window is the window that currently has the input focus. The active window is indicated by emphasis displayed on its title bar and border, as specified by the operating environment.

Figure 3 Active Window

When to Use

Required: Make the window that can currently receive keyboard input the active window.

Guidelines

Required

If an explicit focus policy is in use, and an active secondary window is closed, move focus to the window that the active window is dependent on.

Required

When a window receives input focus, provide a visible difference in the window's title bar. For example:

Change the color of the active window's title bar and border to the color the user has specified for the operating environment.
Increase the saturation of the title bar to signal the change for monochrome systems and in situations where the user might have difficulty distinguishing colors.

Recommended

When the user opens a window but switches input focus to another window before the requested window is displayed, do not display the previously requested window on top of the window that currently has the focus.

Essential Related Topics

For more information, see the Input Focus reference page.

Supplemental Related Topics

For more information see Chapter 5.