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Let's say I have a list of personal data the user has entered such as a full name with an 'edit' pencil icon beside it. When tapping to edit this info, should they be shown with blank fields to enter a new name, or should it be pre-filled with their previous answer?

I'm using name as an example, we have a lot of user data which could be edited. So I'm interested in hearing there are general rules to abide by.

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1 Answer 1

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Yes

  • Users don't have to remember what they previously entered.(Reduces cognitive load)
  • Easier to correct the small mistakes they just entered. Which would happen for many users in forms. eg: Missing capital letters, typo, spacing etc.
  • Let's say the user is in the edit state to edit one field, they need not have to worry about other mandatory fields, as they are already settled in the previous save.
  • Familiarity. Most (really) most forms in products work this way. So the user already knows what to expect.
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  • Hey, just getting back to you with more info: 1. The user doesn't need to remember what they entered as they're played back this info on the previous screen (it's a list of data they entered for that section of the profile) 2. Most of these are multiple choice toggles, so there are no small errors to correct such as spelling. However we do have some text input answers, however most are verified against ID to ensure they're correct. 3. All but a couple of exceptions only have one questions per screen.
    – GeneralGenetic
    Commented Oct 17 at 9:48
  • The answer above is "general rules to abide by" as was the ask in your question.
    – Kish
    Commented Oct 21 at 6:23
  • @GeneralGenetic What issues do you foresee if you are going with "pre-filled with their previous answer" method?
    – Kish
    Commented Oct 21 at 6:23

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