TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Scrollable list or keyword search? From:Jo Oehrlein <COehrlein -at- AOL -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 12 Feb 1998 02:27:34 EST
>>>>data from an Oracle database. To conduct searches, the programmer wants
>>>>to use a text box with a dynamically generated, scrollable list (which
>>>>may eventually contain hundreds of listings). I prefer to use a key
>>>>word search.
>>I believe that Jared Spool's report titled "Web Site Usability: A Designer's
>>Guide" showed that users tasked with locating information at certain web
>>sites fared worse when face with a keyword search mechanism than if they
>>simply browsed the site.
>>I vote for the scrollable list as long as the entries are meaningful to the
>>audience.
The concerns I would have about a scrollable list containing hundreds" of
listings are
1. How long will the database take to populate the list?
2. Will the user be able to start typing the choice he/she wants to quickly go
to a spot in the list. Otherwise, scrolling through hundreds of items is a
chore.
>>Regards...Kris
>>------------------------------
>>kolberg -at- actamed -dot- com
>>kris -at- olberg -dot- com
