[thelist] stupid user interface usability question: how to design a parallel set of pages that users with to click 'save' before going on

[Lee kowalkowski]

On 19/07/06, Zhang Weiwu <zhangweiwu at realss.com> wrote:
> Perhaps the solution could be: add a hidden input element in the form
> 'redirect_to', fill it with the URI of the tab user wish to go to, ask
> if the user wish to save the data.
> yes => submit, server-end script deal with 'redirect_to', handle POST
> and gives URI redirect;
> no  => don't submit, location.href = URI user just clicked.
>
> I take this if there are no better ideas. This is not bad.

If you have a constant form action value, you may as well just give
all your buttons a name, the button used will be the only one present
in the request.  Then you can keep your URIs to yourself and eliminate
potential hijacks.

E.g:

<input type="submit" name="whichButton" value="Button 1" />
<input type="submit" name="whichButton" value="Button 2" />
<input type="submit" name="whichButton" value="Button 3" />

Processing a constant button name is probably easier to implement server-side.

As for the feature to confirm saving, that's up to you (or your
client), if you had a feature like "that's it - I'm finished, I wish
to commit all my recent changes", I probably wouldn't bother asking
the user every time they switched tabs.  Switching tabs could persist
to a volatile store (e.g. the user's session), and the changes made
permanent once the user has committed them.

-- 
LK