isr.co.ro : glossary Dialogue box A request for data, posed by a running program, in the form of a stylized box that lists the choices or shows the form of expected reply. The request is usually displayed as an apparently separate layer in front of whatever had been visible on the screen. Dialogue boxes can be modal--meaning you have to answer them before the program will accept any other input from you--or non-modal, in which case you can select any other interaction element and leave the dialogue box pending.