The formatting of text and numbers to improve readability or to otherwise improve comprehension.
4
votes
2answers
189 views
Best date formatting for post times on forums as far as UX is concerned?
This question is spawned out of a discussion on the meta forums for Discourse, a modern take on forum software being developed by our very own Jeff Atwood.
Which date/time formatting provides the ...
53
votes
5answers
2k views
Do American users also confuse the day and the month in dates like 01/02/2013
Almost everywhere outside the United States, when short dates, e.g. 01/02/2013, are shown on computer screens, the user can't be sure whether the first two digits represent the day or the month. Is it ...
1
vote
2answers
41 views
Not defined variables display
We have a pretty large CMS for fleets and sometimes people leave some optional input fields blank. Displaying that information on the screen doesn't help anyone, and from my point of view it looks ...
24
votes
5answers
785 views
Is constantly updating the formatting of a numeric input box a good idea?
I have a numeric input box, as part of a form. I'm implementing delimited splitting, to make large numbers easier to read. ie, 1000000 would become 1,000,000.
Would it be a good idea to automatically ...
2
votes
2answers
83 views
Best option for data grid records that each can have different multiple choices
Below is a mock up of the screen, and I'm not sure of the best way to do the Delay Reasons in this case.
Each service can have multiple delay reasons and each service can have different delay ...
7
votes
3answers
251 views
What is the correct way to indicate something can be either singular or plural?
Taking it as a given that the system is not intelligent enough to be able to recognise a single result as apposed to multiple results (don't ask!), what is the correct way to represent the possibility ...
7
votes
4answers
94 views
Print array index in plain text
I'm developing an engineering application which stores data in C arrays. When a user edits data representing one of the items of the array, I want to be able to show the item number they're editing.
...
4
votes
3answers
113 views
In a high precision meter do I display battery voltage as a fractional number of volts or as a whole number of millivolts?
There's an Android battery meter application for enthusiasts (control freaks actually) that displays the remaining charge percentage and the current voltage. A typical phone will use a Li-Ion battery ...
9
votes
10answers
328 views
Is it better to represent simple labeled information as table or just text with subheadings?
I'm redesigning a website that has some simple information presented as a table like this:
download bmml source – Wireframes created with Balsamiq Mockups
I read yet the again the Label ...
6
votes
5answers
190 views
Best way to represent null and empty data in an excel file
We have an application that allows users to design their own forms and export the data to excel. One problem is the representation of null or empty data. There are two scenarios that we need to ...
5
votes
1answer
81 views
Formatting “days” in a timespan
When formatting timespans in short form for something like a stopwatch, I know the standard in most places is to use hh:mm:ss.ff (where "f" is "fractional second"). Some places will use mm' ss" ff, ...
2
votes
5answers
113 views
Table head labels should be bigger?
One of my clients is asking me to make column head labels bigger, but i prefer them smaller but bold and lighter. which one should be the better? bigger and bolder headings for each column? or smaller ...
5
votes
1answer
84 views
Wrapping Stack Exchange footer site list?
Browsing through the StackExchange Android website I came across this, and was curious whether wrapping of site names is correct. Will a users eye automatically read "User" and wrap their eyes to the ...
9
votes
2answers
245 views
Whats the best way to present a time duration to user?
We're trying to implement the most effective method of displaying duration it takes for user to complete a puzzle.
Looking for simplicity and accuracy.
I've added two examples that we've been working ...
5
votes
1answer
93 views
Should both bold and italics be allowed in electronic flashcards?
When people create electronic flashcards, is there a valid need for them to have markdown for both bold and italics? This is a question that I have been debating with some colleagues for a while now ...
1
vote
1answer
90 views
Common techniques/resources for formatting source code?
Two parter:
Does anyone know of any stylesheets that are meant to format like visual studio, also any that format like chrome's javascript debugger.
What's the preferred way of formatting source ...
0
votes
3answers
197 views
Inputting percentages - in decimal or whole number form?
I've come across a situation in a form where one group of people is expecting an input field for a percentage value to be whole numbers, whereas the other expects decimal values. Either way when the ...
1
vote
5answers
162 views
What are some reference works for capitalization in UI text?
I'm currently in the process of updating the language files for a large web portal. Over time, a lot of inconsistencies have crept in, and so in different places you might see contrasting:
Titles > ...
2
votes
3answers
93 views
How much of the related text should be included in a hyperlink?
When adding hyperlinks to the markup in paragraph-sized runs of text, how much of the text relevant to each link should be included?
So I know links that just say "here" or "this" are bad, but what ...
1
vote
1answer
131 views
Suggestion for long form like an invoice
I am about to make a long form where users can select/enter data on a web interface directly. Something similar to filling up an invoice form on the web page. I wanted inputs on which process of the ...
7
votes
4answers
233 views
Conventions for the display of large numbers
I have a grid column which can display numbers ranging from single digits and into the billions. I think that at some point we need to switch from displaying the whole number to using abbreviations, ...
2
votes
3answers
231 views
What is an alternative way to display a very large number?
In my application I have a text field that should display numbers (representing money) ranging from 0 to 999 trillions...
The users of my application are the general public, so displaying a ...
4
votes
4answers
1k views
best way to display phone numbers from various countries?
The site I'm working on will list contact data for dealers from around the globe. I'm uncertain what the best way to display non-US phone numbers is. Reading Local conventions for writing telephone ...
14
votes
3answers
420 views
Should first and last name be formatted?
When collecting first and last name from users, should the name be formatted if it will be shown to the user again?
Example: BILL is formatted to Bill
It seem almost impossible to account for all ...
1
vote
1answer
125 views
Displaying floating point values
My app deals with mathematics and geometry, and it will often have to display floating point values. As you may know, floats often have gunk in their least significant digits after a few calculations ...
2
votes
1answer
90 views
Globalization Patterns for Dates Without Year
In my application, there is a field that represents the end of the accounting year for an entity. This "date" is the same every year, so what we currently present to the user is field with a month ...
8
votes
2answers
216 views
Is a number easier to read with the thousand separator?
This may sound like a stupid question but I'm being taken to task for this at the moment. Personally I believe that it's easier to read 1,234.56 than 1234.56. However there are others that are saying ...
19
votes
5answers
586 views
Should users be allowed to copy and paste rich text into text?
I have a wiki-style application where users can create articles. Recently, some users have been complaining that our editor does not support copying rich text and formatting from applications like ...
4
votes
1answer
102 views
Best formatting (aligment) for of a list of facts
In an application (though what follows applies equal well to a report) there will be a panel which shows a list of various statistics or facts, of this general form: "Category: data". So, for ...
0
votes
1answer
135 views
How do I make my buttons with text look awesome? [closed]
I'm doing the e-commerce part of a site that a design firm started. They used a Mac and made their buttons look oh-so-nice:
Unfortunately I don't have a Mac, and the kind of buttons I've created ...
3
votes
1answer
392 views
HTML table cell wrapping issue
One of the problems in a tabular representation of data, is text wrapping inside cells. There are some options available, like:
Fixing the width of the columns, and enlarging the rows height to ...
8
votes
1answer
208 views
How much text markup is good, before it becomes bad?
In 1997 Jakob Nielsen told us about how users read on the web. (Actually in a typically headline grabbing way, he says they don't and then tells us how they do!)
Nielsen is a big proponent of using ...
1
vote
1answer
225 views
What is the best format for a countdown timer?
I was wondering if it is better for the user to display a countdown timer in the format of 36 hours, 12 minutes, 30 seconds instead of 1 day, 12 hours, 12 minutes, 30 seconds.
I think that with the ...
9
votes
2answers
276 views
Formatting relative dates and times
First, when I talk about relative times (or would dates be more accurate?), I mean these 4 minutes ago, 1 hour ago, etc.
When should they be used? With what degree of precision? Shouldn't it be the ...
20
votes
8answers
621 views
When should hyperlink text be used?
Should text links always be text or are there cases when it makes more sense to simply link the URL?
Examples
A text link might look like this: Responsive Web Design Techniques, Tools and Design ...
10
votes
6answers
4k views
International Currency Formatting Guidelines — Currency Codes
In developing a web application that presents monetary data for a variety of locales, I have inquired about the differences of currency formats. In particular, I'd like to know when it is appropriate ...
8
votes
2answers
205 views
What is the point of bbcode (and related markup)?
Why do some sites/forums use bbcode or another formatting language when they could just allow filtered html?
9
votes
9answers
759 views
friendly version of date formats
The users of my application have the ability to choose their prefered date format between:
dd/mm/yyyy
mm/dd/yyyy
yyyy-mm-dd
The 1st one (which has the Java pattern dd/MM/yyyy) produces 31/12/2011.
...
12
votes
9answers
2k views
friendly format for Phone Numbers
Currently on my website users are required to input their phone number in a very specific format (555-555-5555). If you forget the dashes it breaks. Does anyone have a good suggestions for how to be ...
