[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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