Allow to close dialogs by clicking outside of them by default
From ARIA Authoring Practices Guide (APG):
A dialog is a window overlaid on either the primary window or another dialog window. Windows under a modal dialog are inert. That is, users cannot interact with content outside an active dialog window. Inert content outside an active dialog is typically visually obscured or dimmed so it is difficult to discern, and in some implementations, attempts to interact with the inert content cause the dialog to close.
Clicking outside should not close the dialog when the dialog is asking for custom user input and not saving state immediately (like renaming multiple items in Nautilus) that could be lost accidentally. One way to show that dialog should be approached first before closing it might be a bounce animation:
Goal of this proposal
GNOME has a good amount dialogs and for a good reason. But for people who prefer to use mouse this is inconvenient - they have to target close button instead of clicking outside which is often closer (which leads to longer mouse movement). This may also be an inconvenience for mobile device users who can't click in a closer region to close the dialog
Relevant art
This is how it's done currently in Material Design, you can close the dialog clicking outside of it.
Full-screen dialogs may be used for content or tasks that meet any of these criteria:
- Dialogs that include components which require keyboard input, such as form fields
- When changes aren’t saved instantly
- When components within the dialog open additional dialogs
Full-screen dialogs are for compact window sizes only, like mobile devices. For medium and expanded window sizes, use a basic dialog.
If no changes have been made, the dialog closes and no discard confirmation is required
If the user has made changes, the user is prompted to confirm the discard action.