Option box versus Control Window

There are two different types of option windows.

Option boxes are simple windows that can be moved around the screen, but not resized or collapsed. They usually contain only a few options.

While an option box is open, you can’t perform any operation in the view windows, or select any tool, until you have closed the window by clicking the Save, Exit, or Go button.

A typical option box

Control windows, on the other hand, are usually much more complex, with many options.

More importantly, control windows can remain open while you continue using a tool. Changing a parameter in those windows usually causes the model to update automatically. Instead of a Go button, they have a Next button (to restart the behavior of the tool from the beginning) and Update button (to update the model according to the new values in the window, if this is not done automatically). You can also expand/collapse control windows to manage screen space effectively. See Manage screen space.

A typical control window