[thelist] Use of <select> elements for navigation

Luther, Ron ron.luther at hp.com
Tue Jun 24 14:07:19 CDT 2003


Koutoulas, Pete asked:

>>I've always heard that it is bad practice to use form elements (select for
>>example) for purposes other than their intended use. Do you folks subscribe
>>to this philosophy? 

Hi Pete,

Yup, it's totally bad form to use things for other than their intended use.
However, as designers, *we* determine what that intended use is, don't we?

;-)

Working on an Intranet I have the luxury of using list boxes and drop-downs 
as navigational elements if I feel I need to.  As long as their _intended_ 
use is obvious to my audience I don't worry about it.

e.g. In one case I may have a drop-down containing values like "revenue by 
week report" under a text heading that says 'Select type of report:' that 
takes the user to a page with a particular set of controls. in another case 
I may have a list box containing country names under a text heading that 
says, uh, 'Select one or more countries:' that feeds part of the SQL that 
report will execute.  In context neither use is confusing or problematic.

>>what about a situation ... I have about 10 groups of 10-25 
>>documents each and it seems logical and economical to group these into
>>select groups. 

Another option might be to add another 'click'.  Have users select one link 
from those 10 categories that takes them to a page with the specific 10-25 
links within that topical category.

[My guess is that if you have these links and their 'category' in a small 
db table it wouldn't be much more effort to structure things this way 
dynamically as ordering them in a list box dynamically.]


HTH,

RonL.



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