2

Autocomplete/autosuggest (or, sometimes, "Filter as you type" or "typeahead") all seem to generally refer to the pattern of filling a whole text input field with the results from a suggestion list.

google autocomplete example

Is there a name specifically for the similar (but slightly different) pattern of suggesting individual items in a larger text input field, usually triggered by a particular initial character (as with #tags or @mentions)?

at-mention auto-suggest in GitHub issues

Edit: Somewhat similar to what is could be called a "context menu", but again that generally refers to something else (actions menu available after a right-click)

3
  • Great first question and good examples! I would just call all of this "autocomplete" but I am not a UX designer by trade. Jul 8, 2016 at 17:00
  • @StevenNoto Thanks! I was thinking of it as autocomplete too, but googling for that seemed to almost exclusively bring up examples like the first google one or selecting an item from a dropdown. So figured I'd see if any of the experts here had any better ideas :) I was thinking something like "inline auto-suggest" would make sense, but the few references I found to that seemed to describe showing only the first suggested result as text within the input. Jul 8, 2016 at 19:10
  • An IDE would call it "code completion" but that's too specific
    – J. Dimeo
    Jul 8, 2016 at 20:34

2 Answers 2

1

I don't think there is a particular name for it.

It's still auto-suggestion or auto-completion except its relevance is localised to the immediate context (typically single words) rather than affecting the entire phrase.

This type of feature might have additional smart behaviours for the specific context and be given a marketing name, like some kind of assistant - e.g. like Visual Assist, but I don't believe there's a specific name for this action in the scope of larger content.

1

I think it's still called as ' tag auto suggestion' or ' comment auto suggestion'

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.