I'm creating a form in which a user downloads an analytics report. There are multiple fields that are technically required for submission, but we prefill certain fields so that it's less work for users. Here's a sketch:
More examples:
Report Name: [Monthly Report]
^ We would prefill the input with a name, but users can also edit that name
Send Date: [01/01/15]
^ We allow ability to schedule the report and prefill with today's date, but they could also edit it.
Should these fields still be marked as required?
EDIT:
Thanks for the comments below. I realized I was a little unclear in the definition of the input. It's not an example of what should be placed in the input. It's real content that would be used. So more like a default: http://designinginterfaces.com/firstedition/index.php?page=Good_Defaults
While the examples in that article are from local applications, I wondered if the same rules apply to web app?
ANOTHER EDIT:
I've found some other examples/variations. Perhaps someone could speak to those or at least let me know what the term for these scenarios are. Or even if this is the better route to go?
Editable fields:
Noticed that in JIRA, when you hover over content it is editable, but otherwise the default is not editable. But how do you teach people that those areas are editable? I think Squarespace does this too. http://screencast.com/t/Z2EvPiAN
Showing the preselected input as not editable, but asking for confirmation:
Ship to this address
is clear and stands out while the other two actions are very rare. In your situation are you asking the user to confirm something that rarely changes? If not then the Amazon pattern doesn't help and forces most users to always click Edit. – DaveAlger Apr 10 '15 at 2:16