The following guidelines apply for specific uses of the file selection dialog box, and should be observed in addition to the more general guidelines.
Recommended |
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If the user has opened the application without supplying a file name argument, the Open dialog box should use the user's home directory as the default directory. An exception to this rule might be made if a clearly more useful directory can be identified; for example, the icon editor might default to $HOME/.dt/icons. For applications that allow editing, never default to a directory in which the user does not have read and write permission, such as /usr/dt/bin. |
Required |
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If the user has opened the application with a file name argument, the Open dialog box should default to the directory in which that file resides. |
Optional |
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When using the file selection dialog box in Save As capacity, provide a default name of Untitled, place the location cursor in the file name field and highlight the file name text to create a "delete pending type-in" mode. If the current directory already has a file of that name, create a name Untitled2, and so forth. |
Optional |
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When using the file selection dialog box in a Save As capacity, add a file name extension if the application supports file typing by extension, and make this extension visible in the file name field. Do not highlight the extension to create a "delete pending type-in" mode, but allow users to modify the extension or delete it explicitly. After saving a file using "Save As", the application should use that newly saved file as the current file, and all subsequent edits and saves should apply to that newly created file. The Save As dialog should use the same directory in which the current file resides. |
Recommended |
hh: |
When the file selection dialog box is used to choose an existing directory (for example, to install a set of files into the chosen directory) or to specify a new directory, the command button should be given an appropriate label, such as Install, Choose, Create, or OK. If this button is activated while the appropriate directory is selected in the contents list, the directory is utilized by the application and the file selection box is dismissed. |
Required |
hi: |
When the file selection dialog box is used to choose an existing directory, there must also be an additional button, labeled Update, that is enabled whenever a directory is selected in the contents list, and opens the directory. This Update button is the default action. |
Optional |
hk: |
When the file selection dialog box is used to choose an existing file, files are shown in the contents list but they are all disabled. Double-clicking BSelect on a disabled file name has no effect. |