Wiktionary
n. (alternative spelling of dialogue box English)
WordNet
n. (computer science) a small temporary window in a graphical user interface that appears in order to request information from the user; after the information has been provided the user dismisses the box with `okay' or `cancel' [syn: panel]
Wikipedia
The graphical control element dialog box (also called dialogue box or just dialog) is a small window that communicates information to the user and prompts them for a response.
Dialog boxes are classified as " modal" or "modeless", depending on whether they block interaction with the software that initiated the dialog. The type of dialog box displayed is dependent upon the desired user interaction.
The simplest type of dialog box is the alert, which displays a message and may require an acknowledgment that the message has been read, usually by clicking "OK", or a decision as to whether or not an action should proceed, by clicking "OK" or "Cancel". Alerts are also used to display a "termination notice"—sometimes requesting confirmation that the notice has been read—in the event of either an intentional closing or unintentional closing (" crash") of an application or the operating system. (E.g., " Gedit has encountered an error and must close.") Although this is a frequent interaction pattern for modal dialogs, it is also criticized by usability experts as being ineffective for its intended use, which is to protect against errors caused by destructive actions, and for which better alternatives exist.
Usage examples of "dialog box".
Enter the name of your local dialup, then in the next dialog box enter the phone dialup number of your ISP.
If satisfied with your response (and Microsoft says it will always give users the benefit of the doubt), the operator will issue you a new certificate, which you'll type into a dialog box to complete the boot process.
So after a few releases the software would begin to look even simpler: you would boot it up and it would present you with a dialog box with a single large button in the middle labeled: LIVE.
A dialog box popped up to tell me we were off my system now and onto hers.