[IxDA Discuss] Best practice: hiding groups of widgets within a complex form?

[Chauncey Wilson]

 Alan,

What is the frequency of use of this form (based on prior data or expected
usage)?  Will it be used many times an hour, many times a day, a few times a
week, once a month, at random intervals (like the forms occasional travelers
have to fill out for reimbursement)? Could you give us a primary usage
scenario without divulging any trade secrets? Do you have any required
fields on this form or any interdependencies as Alexander mentioned)? How
complex is the form - how many total controls? How many controls in the
groups that  you propose? Do you have a mixture of controls or is  your form
primarily one of text fields?  Will your users be a stable group or will
there be a lot of turnover?  Will you open the entire form by default so
users can see everything?  Before suggesting design possibilities, it would
help to have a bit more background.
Chauncey



On 6/13/07, Alan Wexelblat <awexelblat at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I'm trying to figure out how to give people a way to simplify a
> visually complex form.  This is a PC desktop application, not Web, and
> I don't have the option to break the form apart.
>
> Current technology is something like an enhanced group box
> (
> http://developer.kde.org/language-bindings/ruby/colortooltutorial/dialog3grpbox.png
> )
> with a button-like target in the corner (like a + or open/close
> chevron) that would collapse related groups of widgets, or shrink the
> area in some way.
>
> I haven't seen any good examples of UIs that do this, or design
> patterns I could look at for inspiration.  Anyone got any thoughts?
>
>