Mode (user interface): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:30, 4 June 2025

Revision as of 16:31, 4 June 2025

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{{About|a transient state in user interfaces|modes in videogames|Game mode|other uses|Mode (disambiguation)}}

{{Distinguish|Multimodal interaction|Modality (human-computer interaction)}}

In [[user interface]] design, a '''mode''' is a distinct setting within a [[computer program]] or any physical machine [[Interface (computing)|interface]], in which the same [[user input]] will produce perceived results different from those that it would in other settings. Modal interfacecomponentsinterface components include the [[Caps lock]] and [[Insert key|Insert]] keys on the standard [[computer keyboard]], both of which typically put the user's typing into a different mode after being pressed, then return it to the regular mode after being re-pressed.

An interface that uses no modes is known as a ''modeless'' interface.<ref>[http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/term_321.txl Usability Glossary: modeless] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022205105/http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/term_321.txl |date=2007-10-22 }}</ref> Modeless interfaces avoid ''mode errors'', in which the user performs an action appropriate to one mode while in another mode, by making it impossible for the user to commit them.<ref>[http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/mode-error/ Usability Glossary: mode error]</ref>