How do i avoid closing a dialog that is meant to stay open

[ymolists]

I have a diagramming application that is made of a main content panel (where the user draws stuff) and a right panel where the user can edit properties on the currently selected object in the content panel. I am trying to use a dialog that pops over the right and gets closed when the user clicks on a close button on that panel.

1. How do i make sure this properties panel does not go away when the user clicks on the main content panel ? or presses the escape key ? i only want this dialog to close when the user clicks on the close button.

2. am i better off using a different component than say a dialog ? would appreciate if you can propose something that is better suited for this use case.

3. would you (please) consider adding this type of dialog for the above use cases ? for example a dialog could be something on a sidebar (left/right) but is also sizeable ?