  The dialog boxes are useful in case of displaying warnings, errors,
confirmations etc. in special situations. A typical dialog box is displayed in
a small window with some text message along with a few options for the user to
select. However, there are certain difficulties associated in programming and
implementing a conventional dialog box, such as, severe programming effort,
rigidity of the hard coded message, obscuring screen space and so on. There is
a need to overcome these difficulties of the dialog box to make them more
efficient and useful.
  The modality of the dialog boxes also creates some limitations. While modal
dialog boxes needs to be closed explicitly by the user, modeless dialog boxes
can grow in number and become difficult to control. Thus, an ideal dialog box
should be deprived of all the above-mentioned drawbacks. The dialog box should
not obscure the screen. The user should be able open multiple dialog boxes but
without obscuring the screen.
  This article analyses 5 interesting inventions on dialog boxes selected from
US Patent database. Each invention tries to overcome some limitations of a
conventional dialog box and provides some innovative features. Each solution is
also analyzed from a TRIZ perspective.
