[Sigia-l] Multi column forms in web based applications

[Jessica.Sprague at lawson.com]

Hi Chris,

We have the same issue here, and sometimes 50+ fields is just unavoidable, 
given the complexity of some applications. (We have applications where 50+ 
fields is just the header, followed by 5 other pages of detail, so 
breaking up the big one at the front is of only negligible value.)

Assuming that you still want to put all 50 on one screen (or that you have 
to), we have chosen to do multi-column layout using a flexible CSS-based 
grid as opposed to tables, although I think tables would provide some of 
the same flexibility I'm about to describe.

You mentioned your concern with field character length being hindered in a 
multi-column layout; but if you think about a newspaper or book layout 
grid, it has a fixed number of columns with gutters in between, and 
content can stretch across one or more of these columns. If you take this 
same approach with your form design, a field can be flexible like this as 
well. It even looks good, if you are strict about starting and ending 
fields within the constraints of your grid. (I really wish I had a picture 
here!)

We've chosen to place field labels above the fields, which causes extra 
vertical constraints, but makes the grid-based approach much easier.

Scrolling might still be inevitable, but our feeling was that a single 
column really looks like we deliberately wasted a whole lot of valuable 
space in favor of making the user scroll. I believe you can strike a 
balance between crunching all those fields into a smaller space and 
causing vertical scroll. 

Thanks!

Jessica Sprague
User Interaction Engineer, Lawson Software
651.767.4340