Hide long text in table but keep access to it

Question

I'm trying to cut a long text in a <td> but keep access to the data inside it. Maybe like on mobile by clicking and dragging inside the area.

I've done a post on stackoverflow for more details.

I didn't find any good UX alternative if I want to keep a fixed width in my <td>. Any ideas of what can be achieved ? Is it a good way to do it ?

Any live examples on how some websites deals with that ?

Have you considered simply continuing the text on a new line? — user68158, Sep 11, 2018 at 8:55
@Levano Yes but I don't want to break the layout, I want to keep it as in the example — Baptiste, Sep 11, 2018 at 8:56

An Lev · Accepted Answer · 2018-12-11 08:04:06Z

1

Add ellipsis and show full text on mouse hover.

Example: ux.stackexchange profile page

If you need to perform some actions with the text, you can use an interactive tooltip.

answered Dec 11, 2018 at 7:50

An Lev

1715 bronze badges

1

I was about to suggest the same solution. Since the OP is having problems with path that is too long to fit, perhaps the field content should be the file name only with leading dots, like ...\filename.txt and the balloon text could contain the full path.
– Mike
Dec 11, 2018 at 8:20
Agree, good point!
– An Lev
Dec 11, 2018 at 11:31

Add a comment |

marley · Accepted Answer · 2018-09-11 22:13:33Z

0

Depending on the type of data, I see an additional few options:

Display full contents on hover (if data need only be read).
Displaying the data in a popout/dropdown with additional controls (e.g. a copy to clipboard button) if needed.

The scrollbar may still be appropriate, or used in conjunction with other solutions.

answered Sep 11, 2018 at 22:13

marley

1739 bronze badges

Add a comment |

2 Answers 2