[thelist] Another submit button for cancel
Sarah Sweeney
mr.sanders at designshift.com
Thu Dec 16 08:02:28 CST 2004
> 1. Normally, the "opposite" button to "SUBMIT" clears the form, rather
> than sending the user back to the previous page. (I'm talking about the
> CLEAR button, which is usually the option presented alongside SUBMIT on
> most web forms.)
I disagree. I wouldn't speculate on the frequency of either, but a
"Cancel" buttons (which take you back to a main page) seem to me to be
very common.
> 2. Standard Windows OK/Cancel dialogue boxes usually work more as "OK" =
> do task, "Cancel" = do nothing. There's a separate Undo (go back) function.
"Cancel" does not mean "do nothing", it means "get me out of [whatever
I'm doing]".
> I think the problem is the two words are too similar, visually as well
> as in meaning. Do you want to clear... the entire transaction, or just
> clear the last thing you did? Or do you want to cancel everything, or
> just cancel the last button you pressed? See, it works either way.
These buttons are also often called "Reset" and IMHO I don't really see
a purpose to these - "Cancel" is much more effective. If a user makes a
mistake in a form, they can just go back and change it (why reset the
whole form?). If they decide they don't want to use the form at all, a
"Cancel" button would be the most useful option.
Maybe someone can explain the usefulness of a "Reset" or "Clear" button,
cause I really don't see it.
--
Sarah Sweeney :: Web Developer & Programmer
Portfolio :: http://sarah.designshift.com
Blog :: http://hardedge.ca
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