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I have an interface that looks like this:

enter image description here

The top three fields (Friendly name, Unique TrackerID and URL Endpoint) all need to be saved for the changes to apply and can be discarded by clicking "Go back and discard changes".

However, the bottom three links (Archive link, temporarily disable link and reset all clicks) all take effect the moment the user clicks them. How do I explain that "Go back and discard changes" will not discard those changes? The way I currently do it is by having the text change when the user clicks them:

enter image description here

However I feel this could still be confusing.

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  • 8
    Completely off topic: you'll want to remove the typo from your UI: "permanent" ends in "ent".
    – JeromeR
    Nov 30, 2015 at 18:27
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    It is confusing because actions look visually similar to settings. Back in my day, actions were triggered by things that looked like buttons.
    – Simon Richter
    Nov 30, 2015 at 23:32
  • I don't find it confusing, because the settings that need to be saved look like text entry fields, and the ones that take effect immediately look like hyperlinks.
    – Dan Henderson
    Dec 1, 2015 at 0:32
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    @DanHenderson And hyperlinks look like they perform GET requests and consequently "by law" :-) don't do anything. I had to read the question quite carefully to even understand it.
    – Odalrick
    Dec 1, 2015 at 14:12

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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Information:

Name: Sch

Tracker-ID: ADFASFDF

Url Endpoint: < removed >

[Cancel changes] [Save information]

Actions

[Temporarily disable link]

[Archive link]

[Reset link]

[Delete link]

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    I'd even rename [Settings] to [Actions]. Actions are active, settings are passive. The first fields actually look like settings; [information] suggests that these are read-only.
    – MSalters
    Dec 1, 2015 at 11:59
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    Also consider styling your action links/buttons so that they match or are similar to your Save link/button.
    – user56reinstatemonica8
    Dec 1, 2015 at 13:17
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    @user568458 yeah that's what I tried to indicate. Regular text is text, italics are editable fields, brackets are [buttons].
    – PixelSnader
    Dec 1, 2015 at 22:10
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Separate the settings that can be changed directly from those that need to be saved. Create an "Additional Settings" option, and place it above the settings that can change directly. When the user clicks on the additional settings, a new screen will appear, displaying the three fields that need to be saved.

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You don’t, you fix your UI!

I would make the fields for setting that need to be confirmed read-only and put them inside of a box. At the bottom of the box put an “edit” button. When the edit button is pressed show a popup that allows them to be changed, with “OK” and “Cancel” on it.

Then the current “page”/”dialog”/”whatever” just shows information and has a set of buttons for actions.

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