Name of a program's startup/initial loading window?

softwareengineering.stackexchange https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/327994

  •  23-12-2020
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Question

I am writing user documentation (an SOP) that involves third party programs that I am trying to describe well. One such program is a server that offers little indication of it's startup besides a graphic that shows during its initialization/startup routine.

As a developer, I have used this window as a quick status indicator and I would like to convey this to my audience (operators/engineers), but I have no idea what it is called. My first question is whether there is a formal or widely accepted name for a graphic shown at startup (examples below). Second, what is a preferable way to refer to this that will convey the idea quickly (and without graphics) to my audience?

Examples

Example 1 | Example 2

Was it helpful?

Solution

Those are usually called Splash Screens.

A splash screen is a graphical control element consisting of window containing an image, a logo and the current version of the software. A splash screen usually appears while a game or program is launching.

Splash screens are typically used by particularly large applications to notify the user that the program is in the process of loading. They provide feedback that a lengthy process is underway. Occasionally, a progress bar within the splash screen indicates the loading progress. A splash screen disappears when the application's main window appears.

Source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splash_screen

It seems that another term, loading screen, is only used in the case of video games.

In the case of a whole operating system, they're called bootsplash or bootscreen.

EDIT:

Whence the term "splash screen"?

Here's a question about the etymology in our sister site english.stackexchange.com.

OTHER TIPS

Abovementioned name splash screen is used also as official term, for example on .NET platform:

In the first sentence there you can also find synonym startup screen explaining the slang term in plain English.

Definitely, "Launch Screen" is the one used in most of the environments as far as I know. Example: https://developer.apple.com/ios/human-interface-guidelines/graphics/launch-screen/

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