[IxDA Discuss] select exact number widget?

[Liya Zheng]

Victor,

Do you have specific limitations to only using standard form widgets? If
this is a web application, what is the technical space you're working
in? Plain HTML? Flash? Ajax?

Without understanding the actual context of use for this design
problems, I'm not sure anyone can propose good solutions. But following
your apple analogy and assuming that you can only use standard widgets,
what about using a visual representation that actually shows the two
"buckets" you're talking about. One contain the bucket of apples, the
other object has the two empty spaces to drop the apples into. I've seen
applications use 2 list boxes to do this, and some just 2 visual spaces,
I haven't seen anyone in particular that did a great job, though they
seem to make an attempt to solve a problem similar to yours. When it
comes to returning items to the first bucket, there are multiple ways
you can put the apples back to the first space: drag and drop, select
and click a button with a return feature etc... 


-----Original Message-----
From: discuss-bounces at lists.interactiondesigners.com
[mailto:discuss-bounces at lists.interactiondesigners.com] On Behalf Of
Victor Lombardi
Sent: Friday, January 05, 2007 1:56 PM
To: discuss at lists.interactiondesigners.com
Subject: [IxDA Discuss] select exact number widget?


Has anyone seen effective UI widgets for selecting an exact number of
choices greater than 1? Radio buttons do this for 1, but it seems we
have
no standard for "Select two and only two choices."

writeboard.com does this for comparing two versions of a document you'd
like to compare. They use check boxes, and if a third choice is made the
UI unselects the other two.

Conceptually, an option I'm considering is like selecting two apples
from
a pile of apples at the market, as you select them they are moved away
from the group. So the shopper understands you can only pick two, the
apples are moved into an area just big enough for two apples. This
approach requires a way to unselect as well; with checkboxes that's
already familiar.

Thanks,
Victor
________________________________________________________________
Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)!
To post to this list ....... discuss at ixda.org
List Guidelines ............ http://listguide.ixda.org/
List Help .................. http://listhelp.ixda.org/
(Un)Subscription Options ... http://subscription-options.ixda.org/
Announcements List ......... http://subscribe-announce.ixda.org/
Questions .................. lists at ixda.org
Home ....................... http://ixda.org/
Resource Library ........... http://resources.ixda.org