Part of the Internet technologies glossary:

A pop-up is a graphical user interface ( GUI ) display area, usually a small window, that suddenly appears ("pops up") in the foreground of the visual interface. Pop-ups can be initiated by a single or double mouse click or rollover (sometimes called a mouseover), and also possibly by voice command or can simply be timed to occur. A pop-up window must be smaller than the background window or interface; otherwise, it's a replacement interface.

Next Steps

On the World Wide Web, JavaScript (and less commonly Java applet s) are used to create interactive effects including pop-up and full overlay windows.

A menu or taskbar pulldown can be considered a form of pop-up. So can the little message box you get when you move your mouse over taskbars in many PC applications.

This was last updated in April 2005
Posted by: Margaret Rouse

Related Terms

Definitions

  • pop-up ad

    - A pop-up ad is a pop-up window used for advertising. (WhatIs.com)

  • Top 10 Spyware Threats

    - Visit our spyware feature page to learn more about this problem and how SMBs can beat it. (SearchCIO-Midmarket.com)

  • jump page

    - In Web advertising and marketing, a jump page is a Web page that is made to appear temporarily in order to capture the user's attention as a promotion or to gather user information in a survey. (SearchSOA.com)

Glossaries

  • Internet technologies

    - This WhatIs.com glossary contains terms related to Internet technologies, including definitions about port numbers, standards and protocols and words and phrases about how the Internet works.

  • Internet applications

    - This WhatIs.com glossary contains terms related to Internet applications, including definitions about Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery models and words and phrases about web sites, e-commerce ...

Dig Deeper

Fast References

People Who Read This Also Read...

Tech TalkComment

Share
Comments

    Results

    Contribute to the conversation

    All fields are required. Comments will appear at the bottom of the article.
    Back to top