Messages - Do you know what icons to use? (3/3 Icons)

Last updated by RebeccaLiu over 11 years ago.See history

Icon

Including an icon is important because not only does it give the user a visual indication of the type of message, but without it only the Default beep sound is used. The icon should reflect the type of information being presented:

Icon Name When to use
info
MessageBoxIcon.Information Non-error information, e.g. Database connection test completed successfully
Warning
MessageBoxIcon.Warning A non-critical error, e.g. The input was invalid
error
MessageBoxIcon.Error Critical error in the program, e.g. Program file was not found
MessageBoxIcon.Question NEVER use this.

According to Microsoft, the Question mark is being phased out, as any of the other three: Error, Warning or Information can easily be reworded into a Question, and Question does not show the user the severity of the issue that has just occurred. E.g. If you want to ask the user whether they want to save a file before closing, you should use the Warning Icon. |

We have a program called SSW CodeAuditorto check for this rule.

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