Top new questions this week:

Is labelling a checkbox as mandatory redundant?

I've recently seen a system where an on/off checkbox is labelled as a mandatory field with an asterisk. To me, this seems redundant as it isn't mandatory to check the box, merely to have it either on …

usability forms checkboxes

asked by surfitscrollit 10 votes answered by Matt 23 votes

Are there any valid reasons for an application to steal focus?

This comment reminded me of a problem I do sometimes encounter - I'm in the middle of quickly typing a text and all of a sudden some unrelated application considers itself important enough to not only …

input focus

asked by Tobias Kienzler 8 votes answered by Bevan 5 votes

OR & AND representations for the non technical user

So lets say I am implementing a searcher that people would use to check fantasy football teams and their roster (a fantasy football team can have 8-12 players that each user selects from all of the …

user boolean-search

asked by Bob Sinclar 6 votes answered by Danny Varod 5 votes

Best way to present time durations in a list?

We have a list of items, with one of the attributes being a time duration. (Imagine users, and avg time between certain activities). Most of the time, this duration will be in the 0->120 second …

info-visualisation time

asked by James Boutcher 5 votes answered by Alexey Kolchenko 11 votes

Login for multiple users

What is the best way to make a login form for multiple users? I'll give you an example for your understanding: If we have three different type of users, for example, teachers, students and …

website-design web security ux-design

asked by leoMestizo 5 votes answered by James Jenkins 10 votes

Should I disable google maps scroll wheel zoom?

In most applications of google maps the scroll wheel will zoom the map instead of scrolling it. Personally I find this confusing, and after years of using google maps, both on the google maps web …

scrolling maps zooming

asked by obelia 5 votes answered by Roger Attrill 7 votes

How to indicate on a form field that additional important documentation is available?

We have a primarily form-based application. Most field labels are hyperlinked to a formal instructions document via context-sensitive help links (the mouse cursor changes to show this.) This works …

forms gui-design icons input-fields

asked by Joshua Goldberg 4 votes answered by greenforest 1 vote

Greatest hits from previous weeks:

Why do most public toilet doors open inwards?

The design of public restrooms usually pays great attention to hand washing, providing facilities like wash basin - sometimes with touch free taps - soap dispenser, hand drier or paper towels... All …

physical

asked by daniel.sedlacek 161 votes answered by infoal 39 votes

Are carousels effective?

Go to just about any eCommerce site and the homepage is nearly guaranteed to feature a carousel - an auto-rotating panel, usually with some sort of small navigation, usually highlighting new product …

gui-design conversion carousel

asked by Alex G 151 votes answered by Adam Fellowes 89 votes