Basic GUI Terminology

Know what you are using Help to technicians

Getting help with your computer software may be easier when you know the right terms to use. One of the biggest problems that new computer users have with technical support is not how to properly describe the problem they have. And it's not fair to expect a technical support person to automatically know what a "thing-a-ma-jingy, " or "what-ma-call-it " is.

The following describes the correct names for the common components of the software, so that when a problem is encountered, you can effectively describe a problem that is being experienced and a technician can easily resolve it.

User interface-This is the visual design of a program. can contain squares, squares, words, icons, and buttons. If you encounter insufficient memory for example, you can see black rectangles through the user interface of your software programs.

Titre-C ' est the top part of a program that displays its own name or can describe the content that is displayed elsewhere in the interface. If a program is not properly encrypted, you can see an erroneous description on that part of your interface.

Menu Bar-This part of a program shows menus and menu items. Some of the most common parts of a menu bar allow access to file commands, open commands, save commands, and print commands. An example of an error in this part of an interface would be if an option was missing or dimmed (clearer in color).

Toolbar-This part of a program shows small icons at the top that represent the tools. Clicking an icon opens a tool or processes a command that can also exist in a program's menu bar. The problems in this part of an interface are rare, however if you find yourself repeatedly by clicking on an icon with no results, you can correctly describe the problem by referencing the toolbar. 

Minimize, restore and Exit buttons-these three buttons are usually located at the top right of the interface of a program and each one allows you to minimize the screen of a program, restore it to its original size, or stop the program completely.

Scroll bar-This handy tool allows users to move data from the top to the bottom of the computer screen. 

Status bar-This part of a program is at the bottom of your interface, and usually displays small messages that indicate the progress of a command or task. If the schedule is incorrect, an application can display the incorrect information in that area.

Contextual menu-like the menu bar, a context menu is displayed when a user right-clicks something. Displays commands as well as what you see in a File menu or Help menu.

Input boxes-entry areas are usually small rectangles that allow you to write data in a simple interface, such as a Web page or a browser window. If you find that you cannot write information to one of them, you can solve the problem with a technician by calling it an input area, instead of a "white rectangle " or "place to put in the text ". "

The buttons execute a command after a user clicks on them with a mouse. Problems occur when a button's text dims or does not appear to collapse on the screen when you click on it.

check box: A checkbox is a small box that allows the user to specify several options among several. When you click it, a small "x " appears inside an area. Similar to the checkbox, a radio button allows a user to specify only one of several options. Problems with the radio buttons and check boxes occur when a user makes a choice, but the interface reacts as if the user made a lot of options (or none). When describing a problem to a technician, be sure to indicate if the problem occurs with a check box or radio box. The novice on the computer mistakenly swapped the names of these two controls.

Share this post