[Sigia-l] form picklists with verbatim

[Ziya Oz]

"Susan Paulsen" wrote:

> I'd be interested in viewing or reading about alternate web based
> implementations of picklists with verbatim, or hearing any ideas about this
> web interface problem.

If you have a dynamic app with some manner of intelligence at the back end,
I'd recommend not using DHTML (which could be slow and quirky on some
platforms) but going with a separate window that gets populated directly
from the server with the latest data and can separately *write back*
modifications made by the user to the server/database.

The workflow is simple: either via a button or onFocus() as soon as the user
tabs into the field, a new window pops up. The pick list gets populated with
a call to the server/database, so it's always fresh data. There'd also be a
text field for freeform entry. A double click on any selected list element
inserts it into the text field in the window/form that originally opened the
popup window and closes the popup window, optionally. If the textfield is
used, a button does the same, plus it inserts the new entry into the
database, optionally.

This is generally how client/server apps handle modifiable pick lists; no
reason why it cannot be emulated via HTML/JavaScript. It's elegant,
efficient and fast.

Best,

Ziya