Active Control

The item on the screen where activity is taking place is called the Active Control.

This could be a Button in which case pressing the Enter key will activate the button.

Note in the image above that the Cover Page Button has no special characteristics.

However, the Summary Button has a heavy border on the bottom and right side. It also has a dotted line surrounding the Button Text. This indicates that the Summary Button is the Active Control.

It could be a Text Box where data is input. In this case typing on the keyboard causes the corresponding letters to appear in the Text Box.

The State Text field has the Cursor (which may be blinking in the program) and is the Active Control.

It could also be a Check Box in which case pressing the Space Bar on the keyboard changes the status of the Check Box.

	These Check Boxes have no associated test. The Active Control is indicated by the heavy border on the lower Check Box.
	These Check Boxes do have associated text and the Pain Text Box has a dotted line around the text and is, therefore, the Active Control.

Or it could be something else.

A Control is any item that can receive input from the user.

The Active Control is the one Control that is presently ready to receive input from the user.