Using Dialog Boxes

A dialog box is sort of like a window. Instead of representing an entire program, however, a dialog box
generally contains some simple settings from which you can choose. The term dialog box comes from
the fact that you carry on a kind of “dialogue” with the box by making selections from the options it
presents. Controls within a dialog box are similar to the controls on any other kind of machine, be it a
car, dishwasher, or stereo. Controls enable you to control how a program behaves and looks.
As you may recall, many objects on your screen have properties, characteristics such as size, color,
and so forth that you can change. If an object does offer properties that you can change, right-clicking
the object and choosing Properties from the shortcut menu will take you directly to the Properties dialog
box for that particular object. For example, the desktop itself has properties that you can alter. If you
right-click the desktop “proper” (not the taskbar, not an icon, not an open window) and choose
Properties, you’ll come to the Display Properties dialog box shown in Figure 2-8.
Figure 2-8: The Display Properties dialog box
Tip The Properties dialog boxes for many objects also are available in the Control
Panel, which you can get to by choosing the Control Panel option from the Start
menu.
Within the dialog box, you see examples of some common controls. The following sections explain how
to work all the different kinds of controls you may come across in your daily use of Windows. The
sample Display Properties dialog box doesn’t offer all the controls discussed here. But trust me, you will
eventually come across all the controls described in the next few sections.
Tabs
Some dialog boxes contain more controls than can actually fit into the box. In this case, options are split
into two or more tabs. For example, the Display Properties dialog box contains the tabs shown in Figure
2-9. To view the options offered by a tab, click the tab you want. Alternatively, you can hold down the
Ctrl key while pressing the Tab key to move from one tab to the next. Pressing Ctrl+Shift+Tab moves
through the tabs in the opposite order, from right to left.