Mode (user interface)

In user interface design, a mode is a distinct setting within a computer program or any physical machine interface, in which the same user input will produce perceived results different from those that it would in other settings. Modal interface components include the Caps lock and Insert keys on the standard computer keyboard, both of which typically put the user's typing into a different mode after being pressed, then return it to the regular mode after being re-pressed.

An interface that uses no modes is known as a modeless interface.^[1] Modeless interfaces avoid mode errors, in which the user performs an action appropriate to one mode while in another mode, by making it impossible for the user to commit them.^[2]