Alerting People

Overview

It is often necessary to alert or inform the user of ephemeral or contextual information that is not a fixed part of the interface. Two primary ways of displaying alerts are by using an alert box or a modal.

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Use an Alert Box When the Alert:

• Is non-critical
  e.g. unsaved changes
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• Pertains to a specific component or section on the current page
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‍‍Use a Modal When the Alert:

• Is communicating a significant error
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• Would prevent accidental data loss that is difficult to reverse
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• Should prevent the user from attempting other actions
  e.g. connection failure
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• Is about a user-triggered background task not visible on the current page
  e.g. failed query run

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‍‍Other Resources

Be sure to read the Fabric guidelines on alerts & errors, as well as modals & views.