Designing the Graphical User Interface › Guidelines for Window and Dialog Box Design › Set the Initial Window or Dialog Box Position

Set the Initial Window or Dialog Box Position

Initial position specifies the initial placement of any window or dialog box on the desktop. The following list describes the placement options for windows and dialog boxes.

• Mouse Alignment—The center of the generated window or dialog box falls wherever the mouse pointer happens to be.

  You may not want to use this placement because it will probably require user to move the window or dialog box to use it.

• Designed Position—The window or dialog box is placed where you indicate during design.
• Modeless Multiple-Instance—A modeless multiple instance window lets the user display multiple occurrences of that window, or to switch to another window without closing the first window.
• System-Placed—The operating system determines where to place the window or dialog box.

  Depending on the resolution of the users monitor, you may want to use the system placed position to let the monitor use the best fit algorithm.

The following list details guidelines for positioning windows and dialog boxes:

• Position windows and dialog boxes as you expect the user would position them.
• Size and position the window to be immediately useful when it is opened.
• Consider the window's or dialog box's relationship to other windows or dialog boxes opened at the same time.