Confirmation dialogs require users to explicitly confirm their
choice before the option is committed. For example, users can listen to
multiple ringtones but make a final selection only upon touching “OK.”
Touching “Cancel” in a confirmation dialog, or pressing Back, cancels the action, discards any changes, and closes the dialog.
The ringtone choice in the following confirmation dialog will not be set until the user touches “OK”.
Example of a confirmation dialog with controls positioned on the left side of text.
Confirmation dialogs can use layouts other than lists, for example a date picker, but they are still focused on specifying a single value (picking the date, but not picking the time and date).
The date choice is set by the user touching a date and the “OK” button.
The user selects the hour by moving the clock hand and touching “OK.”
Confirmation dialogs provide both an explicit confirmation button and explicit cancel button. The explicit cancel button clarifies that leaving the confirmation dialog will discard changes, for example, by touching cancel or pressing Back.
Confirmation dialogs should avoid launching additional simple dialogs or simple menus. The additional layers of material can increase the app’s perceived z-depth, and add unnecessary visual complexity.
If additional simple dialogs or simple menus are needed to complete the task or process, consider using a full-screen dialog instead of a confirmation dialog.
Provide explicit confirmation and cancel buttons.
A single dialog button makes the system Back action ambiguous: does Back cancel or confirm?