Should input fields be cleared out when the user selects them?

Question

I have a few input fields in my form with some default values (numbers). Please note, they are not just placeholders, i.e. they can be used as is, if they are not changed.

I was wondering if I should have a mechanism to clear the fields when a user clicks on the box to change them. I think it would look cool. But if I leave them as they are, it might just be more useful for the user in case he wants to alter only a few digits or copy the figure.

Answer 1

You could have the input value selected when the user clicks on the input.
This way the user can just press backspace or start typing to change the value or copy the value instantly.

Answer 2

Don't do that, there are different approaches to filling out values, and for some it would be disruptive. For example if the user just wants to change the last digit...

A good, non-disruptive alternative would be a small "clear input" button.

Answer 3

Pre-filling input elements with valid default values is a great idea. However, deleting those values when you click on the element is an extremely poor UX choice.

You are making the assumption that the only reason someone 'clicks' on an input element is to change the value. That's not so.

Entering a field via the keyboard triggers the same events as using a pointing device. Users who use the keyboard to navigate your form will enter all the fields in the form in sequence, therefore you would be presenting them with defaults and then yanking them away as they go through your form. Try to imagine what the user experience would be like.

Visually impaired users (running tools like JAWS) always use the keyboard to navigate the form. Also, some devices might not have a pointing device at all. They would never be able to take your defaults.

(I am optimistically assuming that the implementation is smart enough to track when the value is a default and delete it, and when the value is a user-entered value and leave it alone, then the idea is merely poor UX. If the code doesn't track the difference, it becomes nothing short of sabotage. Users who choose to use the keyboard (or have no choice but) would be virtually prevented from using your site.)

Even if you restrict yourself to using the mouse, as you yourself noted, there are other reasons to click on a form element other than to change the value, such as to copy it and paste it elsewhere.

There might be a limited case where this kind of interaction might be appropriate. For example, There might arguably be a situation where a specific field has sensitive information where you want to make sure the user re-enters the value every time, or something like that. It would have to be some extreme circumstance. Not on a general basis.

Answer 4

Look at a web browser address bar. General behavior is that it comes prefilled with your default page address. Click anywhere in it to select the whole thing -- typing will replace everything. Or, you can click again to add to the end of the existing text or somewhere in the middle.

If you know that whatever is currently in the field is invalid input, it would be acceptable to erase it all on the first click (e.g., "Enter your age in years"). If it's potentially valid, but might be modified, I would leave the current text (either select the whole thing, or move to the end or to the position in the text).

Answer 5

I would advice against automatically selecting the text in an input field, unless you have a very specific use case where users expect this behaviour. As user ntoskrnl notes, it is uncommon and unexpected behaviour; there are standard ways of selecting all text in a field most users tend to be familiar with, such as triple clicking or the OS's select all shortcut (e.g. Ctrl-A).

I have encountered the behaviour you suggest in the wild occasionally, and it tends to hinder my filling out of the form it is used on. Consider this scenario:

1. I fill out a form, starting at the top, and enter some data in field 1, say bicyclr
2. I tab to field 2, and enter some value
3. I notice the typo in field 1, and Shift-Tab back to it
4. Instinctively I hit backspace and enter e, to fix the typo, but instead of removing only the r at the end I clear out the whole field and end up with just e instead of bicycle

A bit contrived perhaps, but not too uncommon.

Another argument against automatically selecting all text is that on most GNU/Linux desktop environments, selecting text automatically places that text on a sort of clipboard (distinct from the common Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V clipboard), where the middle mouse button pastes its content. This is a very useful feature once you get used to it, because you can use it to quickly copy and paste text from one field to another using only the mouse. Automatically selecting text will overwrite the content of that clipboard.

Mr. Beast's suggestion is quite nice and unobtrusive, you could consider that. One thing I would avoid at all costs though; an on-line banking website for a certain Dutch bank used to have this ‘clever’ trick where hitting backspace actually cleared the whole field. The developer tried to help the user, but ended up creating a frustrating experience instead.

With text fields I wouldn't deviate from convention unless you have a solid use case.