subject: Basic GUI Terms - Understanding What You Are Dealing With Helps the Computer Specialist [print this page] Basic GUI Terms - Understanding What You Are Dealing With Helps the Computer Specialist
Getting help with your PC's software can be easier when you know the right words to say. One of the greatest difficulties that new computer users have with a technician is not knowing how to correctly define the difficulty that they're experiencing. And it isn't fair to expect a tech support person to automatically understand what a "thing-a-ma-jingy" or "whatcha-ma-call-it" is. With the correct terms, the tech support person might even provide you online PC support.
The appearance of your computer desktop is called the "GUI" (pronounced "gooey") that means "graphical user interface" The following list defines the correct names for common parts of the graphical user interface so that if you experience difficulty, you can effectively define the problem that you are experiencing, which helps a technician easily resolve it.
User interface - this is the whole visual design of programs. It may contain squares, boxes, terms, images, and buttons. If you are experiencing a lack of memory, as an example, you might see a black rectangle across the user interface of your software.
Title bar - means is the very top part of a program which might show the program's name, or it might describe the contents displayed in another part of the interface. If a program is incorrectly coded, you may see a wrong description in this part of its interface.
Menu bar - this portion of the program displays menu items and their options. Some of the most common items on the menu bar give access to File commands, Open commands, Save options, and Close commands. An example of a problem in this portion of an interface would be if a command was missing or grayed out (lighter in color).
Toolbar - this portion near the top of the program displays little icons that indicate tools. By clicking an icon it will open a tool or run a command which might also be on the program's menu bar. Problems in this portion of an interface are uncommon, however, if you find yourself clicking an icon repeatedly and getting no results, you can properly describe the issue by referring to the particular icon on the toolbar.
Minimize, Maximize, and Exit buttons - these three buttons are found on the right-most upper corner of the program's interface, and these let you minimize a program's screen, maximize it or restore it to its former position, or completely close the program.
Scroll bar - this convenient item allows users to move information up and down the PC screen.
Status bar - this part of the program is located on the lowest portion of its interface, and it frequently shows small messages which tell the progress of a task. If programmed incorrectly, a program might show the wrong message in this area.
Input box - an input box is usually a small rectangle that permit you to type data into a simple box in a program, webpage or browser window. If you discover that you aren't able to type data into one of these, you could more effectively resolve the problem with a computer specialist by referring to it as an input box, rather than an "area," a "white rectangle," or a "place to write something in."
Context menu - similar to the menu bar, the context menu displays when a user right-clicks on an item. It shows commands similar to what appears on a File or Help menu.
Button - this useful item runs a task when the user clicks it with a mouse. Problems occur if the writing on the button is grayed out or if it does not appear to be pressed into the interface when clicked.
Check box - the check box is a tiny box that allows a user to indicate several choices among many. When clicked, a small "x" displays in a box.
Radio Button - a radio button is similar to the check box, but allows the user to indicate only one choice among several. Issues with radio buttons and check boxes happen when the user makes one choice, but the program reacts as though the user made many choices (or none at all).
When you describe an issue to a computer specialist, be sure to indicate whether the issue occurs with a check box or a radio box. Computer novices mistakenly interchange the names of both of these controls. So master the correct words, then the tech support person will be able to actually provide you online PC support, yes, even over the Internet!
