Programming .NET Windows Applications

Chapter 6. Dialog Boxes

How can I miss you when you won't go away?

—Dan Hicks, "Original Recordings"

A dialog box is a simple form, though some dialog boxes are simpler than others. Typically, a dialog box either displays a message or gathers a bit of information. In either case, the dialog box "pops up" in the middle of your application to serve a specific targeted purpose.

A dialog box is distinguished from a form primarily by appearance (it is typically smaller and simpler than a full-form window) and function (it typically does only one thing), but the truth is there is no hard and fast distinction between a dialog box and a form. Both derive from the Form class.

That said, most dialog boxes have the following traits. They:

• Cannot be resized (although this is changing, thankfully, since many dialog boxes benefit greatly from being resizable)

• Do not appear in the Windows taskbar

• Do not have a control menu in the upper-left corner

• Do not have maximize or minimize buttons in the upper right corner

• Exhibit modal behavior