CHAPTER 3
Controls
3-6 Buttons
Figure 3-5 Where to use a button named Cancel
A button named Cancel should close the view it’s in and return the application
to the state it was in before the view appeared. Cancel means “Dismiss the
operation I started, with no other effects.” A Cancel button should not be the
only button that can close a view; in such a view, use a Close box instead.
Rather than Cancel, use a text button named Stop to allow a user to halt an
operation that’s underway, especially if this button is next to a large Close box.
In that context a Cancel button may look to some users like a duplicate of the
Close box. Figure 3-6 illustrates the use of a Stop button.
Figure 3-6 A Stop button lets a user halt an operation
Don’t use Cancel with a specific actionUse Cancel with OK or Yes