So, I have this really radical, amazing idea...Let's not use drop downs for selections with insanely large numbers of selections! Every time I see a drop down for state it makes me nuts...especially because so many of them just show the two letter abbreviation....One of the few numeric heuristics that was drilled into my head when I was just a baby usability student was that a drop down should never, under any circumstances, contain more than 13 items (and really not more than 12, but they'd let us get away with one extra).
I understand the need for standardization and the need for error checking, but there are other ways to go about it. Yes, it takes more programming to have a text field and then error check that against permissable countries, or use a scrolling selection window (which has many of the same problems that Caroline pointed out -- as in "What DO you people think my country is called?") but to my mind both of these are preferable to the mindless instantiation of the drop down menu whenever data needs to be consistent. I think that in the case of addresses it's time for us to stop making the selection process easier on the technology side and start making it easier on the human side. Of course there's probably nothing we can do to eliminate the US-based problem with data entry people who are frustrated when they can't find New Mexico on the country list. Katie At 4:35 PM -0800 12/17/07, Jim Drew wrote: > >From: Billy Cox <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> >>2 -- Most likely selection(s) at the top of the list, with remainder of list >>alphabetical. > >If you choose the latter, make sure that the pulled-out items are >also listed again in the full alpha listing. I've been caught a >couple times trying to find United States in the U's after >alphakeying to there, and then having to scroll all the way back to >the top of the list to get to my desired location. Put it in twice >and same somebody some grief. > >-- Jim -- ---------------- Katie Albers [EMAIL PROTECTED] ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
