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So I have a menu on web application I am developing. In this menu, there is an option for how many Project vacancies one wishes to create. The user can choose as many as they need (large numbers will prompt a confirmation to ensure the user hasn't made a mistake).

The first way of choosing is a small Drop Down List that looks like this:

Drop Down List, unselected

When you open said list, you are prevented with these options:

Choices available

If one decides that 5 is not enough, you can select "More..." and the Drop Down List changes to a text box:

Custom entry for the number of Vacancies

When I showed this to my tech lead, his first question was "Can you go back to the List?"

I instantly thought that having such an option was inappropriate, as I felt it would clutter up my nice menu, where I like to keep things minimal for things like this.

My question is - Is this the right choice? Should I give the user the option to go back to the list? Does it matter?

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3 Answers 3

Reset to default
6

Spin control suits your requirement.

enter image description here

user can increase or decrease the number by clicking on up-arrow or down-arrow. This can be controlled to be between two numbers

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    +1 for re-evaluating the situation and providing a nice and simple solution
    – Koen Lageveen
    Commented Apr 12, 2013 at 12:00
  • Due to a requirements change the Boss doesn't want a "number of roles" option anymore, but this was a good answer, thanks.
    – Felix Weir
    Commented Apr 19, 2013 at 12:26
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If someone decides that they now want to select 3 instead of 15, they can already go back just by entering 3 instead of 15. Sure, the interaction is slightly different, but I can't imagine anyone being confused by this.

You should limit the inputs of the text box to numbers (and indicate that clearly), so that you don't get answers like "fifteen".

Personally, I would prefer not having the dropdown in the first place, and only having the text field as I can fill it in faster and it is cleaner.

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    +1 for not having a dropdown. Users aren't going to read the dropdown options to help make their decision, and there's no concern for mis-spelling here, so a dropdown is only making the process harder.
    – Mark D
    Commented Apr 12, 2013 at 12:51
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User should be (always) allowed to undo his action. This is a good UX practice.

If you want to stick to your design of drop down menu + more, then I'd suggest you add an input box beside the drop down list in case of more. This makes it quite easy for the user to re-select a lower number.

mockup

download bmml source – Wireframes created with Balsamiq Mockups

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