A window defines the visible bounds of the NativeUI display. The application first displays a window. The application can then add views (that is, menus and screens) and other items related to the application inside the window. A window can:

An application might only require one window that the application uses to display each of the application screens as the user navigates between them. However, if the application requires window overlay, you can add multiple window support to the application.

Depending on the requirements of the window and the target platform, different additional features might be present. For example, on some platforms an overlay dialog might include a title bar that allows a user to reposition the dialog on device’s display. Another example is that a title bar might contain a Close button.

If an application runs on a tablet device, you might want to use multiple panes within a window. You can then add views into the panes. For more information, see Using Multiple Panes for Tablet User Interfaces.

The application displays a view within a window. Views are analogous to individual menus or screens in a user interface flow. A view can have a header bar, soft key labels, or encompass the entire window. Mobile Designer provides some custom views that automate the creation of common displays. For example, the nUINavView object is a view for navigation.

Applications can add elements into views. Elements are singular display items or control items. Elements can have focus, and they can be selected. Examples of elements are images, buttons, and text fields.

Elements can visually respond differently on different platforms and devices. For example, an edit field might present an overlay keyboard on one device to enter the data, while on another device, edit could represent an in-line triple-tap text entry.