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Posted by Norman Peelman on 10/27/07 12:47
Fester Bestertester wrote:
> Shelly wrote:
>> A "submit" button on a form has a reason for existence. There have
>> been MANY times that I have entered data on a form and changed my mind
>> before "submit"ing. I simply closed the window and all was gone!
>> That is the EXPECTED behavior. If a user is annoyed that this
>> happened, then he should learn how to use his computer! If data are
>> to be entered whether or not he clicks the "submit" button, then by
>> all means get rid of that button!
>>
>> Simply put, I totally disagree with the use of the word
>> "Unfortunately". Rather, I would have said "dammit" (or worse!) if the
>> data had actually been entered when I closed the window without
>> clicking "submit".
>
> Actually this answer kind of reflects my initial reaction on hearing the
> issue come up in the first place. My inclination was to ask, "so, if you
> go to your bank's web site and enter all the information for a transfer
> of funds from one account to another and then just click the "x" window,
> do you assume the transaction went through?"
>
> I sort of can't blame the users though. The functional people designed
> this particular software usage survey form in such a way that it has
> dozens of fields, for dozens of possible types of software. The result
> is that the user scrolls down, enters some numbers at the bottom of the
> form, and then forgets that there's a "Submit" button back at the top.
>
> I've remedied this by creating several new instances of the Submit
> button throughout the form, so that at least one instance is always
> visible, and by placing a text reminder at the top of the form.
> Hopefully that will do the trick.
I would put a button at the top and bottom with reminders
throughout... too many buttons and someone will think they can update
info periodically (which is still not what you want).
My opinion is this, a form is presented with anticipation of all
fields being filled in (minus non-required fields). You must write your
script to handle the form properly to begin with. Don't update anything
until the form is submitted and you have checked all appropriate fields
have been entered (or changed). If not give them the form back with
hints on the appropriate entries (I use CSS). If a user closes their
window without subbmitting the form then assume that they did not want
to submit the form. If you want to use cookies so a user can come back
later that's fine... just don't do any updates until the form is
submitted and verified first.
You might look at breaking the form up into smaller pieces and
feeding it to the users based on each previous part (use cookies or
sessions to track). Have your script dynamically produce the form parts
as it reacts to previous selections... no javascript needed. AT the end
when all info has been gathered and verified do your stuff.
Norm
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