Questions tagged [input]
A way for users to put information into a computer system.
62 questions
48
votes
4
answers
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On forms, is inline placeholder text better than a label outside each field?
I am familiar with research on label placement to the left or above. I tend to go with right justified with the label to the left of the field for my form designs.
However, inline placeholder text ...
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67
votes
10
answers
25k
views
Is a cancel button necessary in a web form?
Personally I have never used it. I don't put information in a form and then decide everything needs to be cleared. I would edit one field.
Plus cancel in a UI suggests canceling an action which is in ...
94
votes
12
answers
34k
views
Merging firstname/last name into one field
I am entertaining the notion of a single field for name entry on our scheduling web app. I think this is an excellent case for a "forgiving format" to make it easy to enter their names quickly.
I ...
- 4,804
86
votes
10
answers
166k
views
What is the best UI for multi-selecting from a list?
We have a web form and one of the fields is a multi-select list. Our options are:
List of checkboxes
Listview (select box but allowing multi-select)
Both seem to be a bit ugly and unwieldy when the ...
- 1,381
25
votes
5
answers
8k
views
Best way to combine sign in and sign up in the same form?
I want both forms to be extremely simple - sign in much like facebook in the header with 3 inputs side by side - email, password then "sign in" (or is "log in" better?).
I also want to USE THE SAME ...
- 253
367
votes
23
answers
91k
views
Is this rotating cube interface user-friendly?
I'm working on a prototype for an innovative form interface, where different parts of the form are shown on different sides of a cube. The cube rotates, and the user can fill it out as the cube spins. ...
- 5,338
35
votes
4
answers
6k
views
Auto Advance to Next Field
When is it appropriate to 'auto advance' from one text field to the next, as in phone numbers and SSN?
- 353
69
votes
19
answers
44k
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Form for inputting operating hours of a business
I am designing an interface where restaurants need to input their operating hours. I am thinking of using a slider control for timings for a single day, and then let the user choose days of the week ...
- 4,673
54
votes
13
answers
40k
views
Better way for users to select a date range
In my application, users select a date range for which results are required. The UI looks something like this:
My users don't like this, because the date picker requires them to select a specific ...
- 8,341
19
votes
7
answers
5k
views
App interface for changing relational percentages
Has anyone ever seen or used a good app interface (web or mobile) for changing relational percentages? E.g I need to change 3 amounts to make up £100 and I need to be able to use any permutation to do ...
- 441
4
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Input field - Select multiple items from a very large list
That is a common scenario that filters for a specific grid may contain large lists of values. In most cases every item displayed in the filter list holds by itself different Metadata fields that can ...
- 803
2
votes
1
answer
613
views
What is the best graphical interface for inputting a list of pairs?
I want to create a graphical interface for inputing skill build orders for an RPG game. A skill build is an ordered list of (skill, number) pairs, like this (see footnote):
(A x1) -> (B *) -> (...
- 121
72
votes
13
answers
20k
views
Best UI to allow expert users to enter an ip address? (IPv4)
I am working on a web application which requires users to enter an IPv4 address (in dotted-quad decimal notation) for most of the primary tasks they need to perform. Our primary target "user" is a ...
- 1,417
39
votes
4
answers
100k
views
What should the character limit(s) for first/last name inputs be? [closed]
We want to create input fields for a user's first and last names.
What should the minimum and maximum limits be, if any, and why?
- 391
25
votes
10
answers
23k
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Multiple vs single field capture for phone number form input
Working on a form dealing with phone numbers, I've seen two methods to capture user input .
In past practices example 2 (image below) has proved effective in controlling phone number lengths on ...
- 1,803
9
votes
2
answers
943
views
Can I reformat personal names obtained from a single form field?
I have been reading this excellent question and its answers, about collecting names from people in forms.
The best answer (the accepted one anyway) seems to be to follow the W3C's advice on ...
8
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Can an input field be too wide?
Topic of discussion.
Is it a usability problem to have an input field be too wide?
For example:
I am creating an internal management system where users come to view orders in the system.
When ...
- 2,286
6
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Accessibility of in-field labels and help text labels in input forms
Many newer UI interfaces have a preference for input field labels or help texts to be contained within the UI component itself instead of implementing them as separate labels. I was wondering if ...
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5
votes
5
answers
6k
views
Multi Language Name Input
We are developing a Client Application that supports multiple languages. We have some MasterData that requires to have a localized Name (e.g a Product is named different in every location). When ...
- 263
5
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Approaches for setting a time period
In a GUI application I have a setting for a time interval. In this case, it's a refresh period, but the same issue comes up when you set how early you want a calendar reminder, how long to snooze an ...
- 629
2
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Allowing the user to add input fields
I have a form where the user can input as many usernames as they'd like. I've decided to show the form with 3 inputs initially, to encourage the user to input more than one username.
When the user ...
- 23
1
vote
2
answers
142
views
What is this input type or form setup called? [duplicate]
Couple of us arguing about this and none of us can remember what this is or would be called. Commonly seen on forms where you are moving an option from one box on the left to a box on the right and ...
- 13
66
votes
7
answers
12k
views
Auto capitalization of name input fields
Is it appropriate to add auto capitalization on input fields where the user has to add first or last name text?
- 613
56
votes
11
answers
11k
views
"Typocaptcha" - an alternative to CAPTCHA? [closed]
We all hate CAPTCHAs, but to some applications they're a necessary evil. Today I wondered if there's a better alternative we just haven't thought of yet. I considered the dilemma: how do you create ...
- 1,069
43
votes
3
answers
5k
views
What do you call this input element where a focus will automatically be transferred to next text field after being filled?
I have seen this input element often when inputting a serial number or similar code. Each text field accepts N characters, after which focus is automatically transferred to the next field. Pressing ...
- 548
25
votes
7
answers
16k
views
Best way to offer a large amount of selectable options (without using Javascript)?
I come from stackoverflow and have no answers for this one, so I turn to the UI guys for assistance.
Let's say I have a library application that allows a user (librarian) to add a book to the ...
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23
votes
5
answers
4k
views
When is it a good idea to perform actions on mouse-down *as opposed to click/mouse-up*?
I've grown used to the GUI paradigm of pre-select on mouse-down, action on mouse-up. In fact, I rely on it, sometimes canceling an unwanted action after mouse-down by dragging outside of the click ...
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22
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Are there any valid reasons for an application to steal focus?
This comment on another UX.Stackexchange question:
that's not to force you to read it, it's to ensure that websites don't pop up the window as soon as your mouse pointer goes to click something in ...
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20
votes
10
answers
5k
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Is it a good idea to enforce a minimum comment length?
In a social application focusing on a niche community where the level of comment quality matters, is it a good idea to enforce a minimum comment length?
For example, see this set of comments on a ...
- 383
19
votes
6
answers
4k
views
Credit Card input format
Somewhere, in one of the Usability books I read ( probably Donald Norman ), there was a suggestion that the normal format for entering credit cards was wrong. The usual format is 16 characters in a ...
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18
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Is it acceptable practice to use checkboxes as radio buttons?
Can someone point me in the direction to articles regarding checkboxes and radio buttons?
I'm in a discussion with an Art Director and he is convinced it makes more sense to use checkboxes because ...
15
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Should you optimize mobile experiences based on individual handedness?
In abbood's question "How to implement a stack exchange style voting for mobile?" he answers his own question with the following mock-up:
My immediate thought was that the up-vote control was on the ...
user12741
14
votes
6
answers
6k
views
What would be the best way to let a user add a URL to a form?
Currently our webapplication simply shows a textbox with no validation at all.
There is a small icon placed next to the textbox that allows the user to open the URL in a new browser window to check ...
- 387
14
votes
8
answers
8k
views
How to mark an input field with text longer than its width?
Given a form with many input fields, some have long text which exceeds the input field width. I wish to mark those input fields in some way which indicates they have more text than is visible.
I have ...
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12
votes
3
answers
1k
views
FORMS: When to use dropdowns, and when to use dynamic lists?
Interesting that I couldn't find a discussion of this already.
When should we use dropdown selects, and when should we use dynamic lists (updated as you type) in web forms?
My opinion:
Dropdowns ...
- 221
11
votes
5
answers
5k
views
What is the term for a numeric input field of a specific format?
There are new HTML5 input types being defined for commonly used numeric input types such as date, time, telephone number, etc. These terms refer to a specific input format based on the type of numeric ...
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8
votes
4
answers
8k
views
Best Web UI for Large Amounts of Data Input
I'm looking for a good solution when users need to enter large amounts of data into a web application.
Example
A store owner wants to enter 30-40
new products into the system every
month. The store ...
- 647
8
votes
6
answers
18k
views
Dealing with Area Codes in Phone Number fields
Ok so I know a similar(ish) question has been asked before re: friendly format for Phone Numbers.
My question however focuses on a more specific part of this question, namely the 'dropped' first zero ...
- 2,184
8
votes
5
answers
473
views
Entering any two of four inter-dependent values
While designing a garden landscape, I want users to be able to define a slope of the terrain.
There are four values users can enter:
Run - the horizontal distance along the depth of the slope
Rise - ...
- 71.3k
8
votes
2
answers
669
views
Is there any research into the cost of switching between using a keyboard and a mouse?
My intuition and own experience tells me keyboard shortcut keys can be faster than using the mouse. However, some tasks like browsing the internet or a folder hierarchy truly benefit from using a ...
- 1,330
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votes
4
answers
9k
views
Combining email and phone inputs into a single text field
Let's say you want to combine both email and phone input into a single text field because you require either or, not both. What's the best way would you approach this? As far as making it clear ...
- 161
5
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Should checkbox label be styled like an anchor link?
I've struggled to find any sort of argument that supports either of my theories so i wanted to see what the UX community at large thinks about this.
Scenario
I have an online shop. When you view a ...
- 421
5
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3
answers
7k
views
Display of disabled input fields
How should an input field appear when it is disabled? One idea is to show 'Disabled' as value within the input field. Is there a better idea to indicate an input text field is disabled?
The input box ...
- 257
5
votes
1
answer
3k
views
For non-special-character textbox, should I use inline validating message or block users from inputing invalid characters?
I have one textbox that means to allow no special characters. Now, I have to choose below approaches:
Display inline validating message say something like "char * is not allowed" (A) or "Your input ...
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4
votes
2
answers
231
views
Input of sequential data
I am currently working on a dialog where the user inputs a sequence of names. This sequence is simulated in the underlying code as the user types, and "issues" with the sequence are printed below the ...
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4
votes
7
answers
7k
views
UI for Inputting Numbers Efficiently
I am developing a web app that requires a lot of numeric adjustments to be done very quickly by a user.
Here is an example:
Possible Solution
The only reasonable suggestion I could come up with is ...
- 141
4
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Column headers in a table functioning as input boxes for filtering
Is it a good idea to use column headers as input boxes for filtering the results in a table?
- 321
4
votes
3
answers
545
views
Windows directory picker: why need an extra button?
The standard directory pickers are as follows. They have a long input box with the current chosen directory, a '...' button next to it that opens a directory picker to chosen a new direcotry.
Why is ...
- 2,173
4
votes
1
answer
692
views
Cursor position and movement in Bidi Input.
In the case of Bidi input, where both RTL and LTR types languages can be mixed together, what should be the cursor position? And what should be the movement of the cursor with Home and End buttons?
...
- 141
3
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Web-Based SQL Query Builder
I've built a simple web-based query builder using a series of dropdown lists such that the only typed input is the final value field.
In the example above simply adding the filters consecutively ...
- 133