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JavaScript Enhancement with VBScript
the droll pop-ups

Since JavaScript 1.0, the alert(), confirm() and prompt() methods have been important tools for communicating with the user. As we all know, however, they are extremely colorless, and uncustomizable.

Dialog Boxes We Have Known

In the Beginning (NS3-)

Navigator 3-
The Original Alert Dialog: This grandaddy of Web dialogs certainly did what its name implied: it alerted the user. Early users, new to scripted pages, usually responded: "What is 'JavaScript,' and why is it alerting me? What have I done wrong?." The "JavaScript Alert:" part of the message was completely unnecessary, and only confused users.	The Original Confirm Dialog: This dialog expects a yes/no response from the user. That is, a confirmation. Then why do the buttons read OK and Cancel, instead of Yes/No????
The Original Prompt Dialog: The title bar is more informative than the title bars in the other two dialogs. But is it a Netscape User Prompt or a JavaScript Prompt? And what's the difference? And why are both messages included?

Version 4 Browsers

Navigator 4
Better. The "JavaScript" has been moved away from the message area. But what is a JavaScript Application? Again, this confuses the user. The browser name would have sufficed, and been a lot more user-friendly.	Same title bar problem and it retains the old OK/Cancel buttons.
Same title bar problem.

Explorer 4
A good, unconfusing dialog. The title bar identifies the browser and the message area contains only the message.	Only problem is the inappropriate button captions.
The old double messages have been inexplicably retained.

How many times have you wished to have some control over what is displayed in system dialogs?

• display a title relevant to your page, of your choosing?
• display an icon different from the default?
• display more relevant button captions
• highlight a different button choice as the default?

All of the above are possible with VBScript.

Produced by Peter Belesis and

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Created: Nov. 18, 1998
Revised: Nov. 18, 1998

URL: http://www.webreference.com/dhtml/column22/js-vbNorm.html