Grayed out

Grayed out

In computing, the term grayed out describes a user interface element that has been displayed with a light shade of gray instead of black or colors, to indicate that it cannot currently be operated by the user.

In example, many web browsers have a "Stop" button or menu item to discontinue loading a web page that has been partly loaded. However, if no window is showing, or the current page is already completely loaded, then this control cannot perform any function. In this case, the button or menu item may be "grayed out" -- and drawn in gray.

This convention is widely used in graphical user interfaces, to quickly let the user know which actions cannot be taken in the computer's current state. This approach makes it possible to disable controls when they cannot be used, but keeps the controls in a consistent location and gives a clear signal that they cannot be used, thereby minimizing confusion for the user.

External links

* [http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/skaalid/theory/interface.htm Human-Computer Interface Design] at University of Saskatchewan
* [http://www.si.umich.edu/~presnick/BallotConfusion/ Usability Analysis of the Palm Beach Ballot Controversy] , Paul Resnick, Associate Professor, University of Michigan School of Information


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • gray something out — display a menu option in a light font to indicate that it is not available: [usually passive] all the property fields on the Shortcut tab are either missing or grayed out …   Useful english dictionary

  • dimmed dulled grayed — Colorless Col or*less, a. 1. Without color; not distinguished by any hue; transparent; as, colorless water; a colorless gas. Note: [Narrower terms: {ashen, bloodless, livid, lurid, pale, pallid, pasty, wan, waxen}; {neutral}; {white}] [Also See:… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • bleached faded washed-out washy — Colorless Col or*less, a. 1. Without color; not distinguished by any hue; transparent; as, colorless water; a colorless gas. Note: [Narrower terms: {ashen, bloodless, livid, lurid, pale, pallid, pasty, wan, waxen}; {neutral}; {white}] [Also See:… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Implementation Maturity Model Assessment — The Implementation Maturity Model (IMM) is an instrument to help an organization in assessing and determining the degree of maturity of its implementation processes .This model consists of two important components, namely the:* five maturity… …   Wikipedia

  • Elite Beat Agents — The European box art for Elite Beat Agents, from left to right are characters Agent Morris, Agent J, and Agent Derek. Developer(s) iNiS Publisher(s) …   Wikipedia

  • Censorship — Part of a series on Censorship By media …   Wikipedia

  • Gamut — This article is about color gamut. For other uses, see Gamut (disambiguation). A typical CRT gamut. The grayed out horseshoe shape is the entire range of possible chromaticities, displayed in the CIE 1931 chromaticity diagram format (see below).… …   Wikipedia

  • EXpanded MultiPlayer — ( XMP ) is a multiplayer expansion to developed by Legend Entertainment. XMP contains just one game mode that is similar to Capture the flag but requires more sophisticated tactics. Development : eXpanded MultiPlayer was developed by Legend… …   Wikipedia

  • Air Gear — Cover of Air Gear Japanese vol. 1 エア・ギア (Ea Gia) Genre Action …   Wikipedia

  • Command pattern — In object oriented programming, the command pattern is a design pattern in which an object is used to represent and encapsulate all the information needed to call a method at a later time. This information includes the method name, the object… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”