Window Titles for Identically Named Objects and Views

Java^TM Look and Feel Design Guidelines: Advanced Topics > Part II: Special Topics > 2: Windows > Window Titles for Identically Named Objects and Views

Window Titles for Identically Named Objects and Views

In applications with multiple windows, each window title should be unique. This section helps you create unique window titles for:

Multiple windows representing different objects whose names are identical
Multiple windows representing different views of the same object

The title text of a primary window should be in the following format:

Document or Object Name - Application Name

Figure 20 illustrates the conventions for titling windows that represent identically named objects or multiple views of the same object.

Figure 20 Window Titles for Identically Named Objects and for Multiple Views

In primary windows that display identically named objects or views, the window title includes a suffix to the Object Name. However, the suffix is not part of the Object Name. For example, in Object 2, view 1, of Figure 20, the suffix " (2):1" is not part of "User Accounts"--the Object Name.

Window Titles for Identically Named Objects

Applications can display more than one window at a time. As a result, different windows can display objects whose names are identical. For example, two windows might each display a different document named Report. To avoid confusion and to help users distinguish between such windows, use the following guideline.

If two or more objects have the same name, make their names unique in window titles by appending a space and the suffix (n) to the Object Name in each window's title text--where n is an increasing integer.

Window Titles for Multiple Views of the Same Object

Typically, applications show a particular object in only one window at a time. Sometimes, however, an application needs to show two or more views of the same object in different windows.

For example, at a user's request, an application might show the contents of a folder or directory as a list in one window and as a set of icons in a different window. In such windows, the correct format for the Object Name in the title text depends on whether the window is a primary window, as described in the following guidelines.

If multiple primary windows show views of the same object, distinguish each of the windows by appending the suffix :n to the object name in the window title--for example, Report:2. (The letter n stands for an increasing integer.)

Do not place a view number in the title bar of property windows.

In action windows, place a view number in the title bar only if the action produces a different result in different views.

If your application displays multiple objects with the same name and multiple views of the same object, place the view number after the duplicate- name identifier in each window title--for example, Report (2):3.