[Patternfly] UXD Team - Thoughts on multi column forms

[Matt Carrano]

Hi Liz,

Agree that placing these in a single column will make for a ridiculously
long page.  I'm almost wondering if arranging elements in tables with
editable cells is a better solution here.     We did something like this
for Storage configuration where parameters could be broken into groups and
placed in a tabular layout.  Can you logically group parameters somehow?  I
can show you the page I'm referring to if you like.

Matt

On Mon, Sep 26, 2016 at 10:32 AM, Liz Blanchard <lsurette at redhat.com> wrote:

> Thanks for the work you've done on this, SJ.
>
> I'm designing a product that has some forms for configuration that are
> insanely long. Some of them are 50+ field/value pairs which can be
> categorized a bit, but I've considered using multi-column forms to help
> reduce the crazy amount of scrolling that would be needed otherwise for
> these forms.
>
> I've also considered easing the pain by trying to bubble up the most
> commonly used parameters as well as using the 'find' pattern to add a way
> for users to quickly find a specific parameter within the form...both of
> which might take away the need for multi-columns.
>
> I'd be curious to know if folks think this is a good use case for
> multi-columns in a form or if there is a better way to tackle this.
>
> Thanks again,
> Liz
>
> On Fri, Sep 23, 2016 at 9:27 AM, Catherine Robson <crobson at redhat.com>
> wrote:
>
>> I agree with the conclusion.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Sep 23, 2016 at 3:22 AM, Greg Sheremeta <gshereme at redhat.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> SJ,
>>>
>>> I agree with the conclusion! I sat with it for several minutes, and
>>> thought to myself -- hmm, I hate all multi-column forms. Then I looked at
>>> the address form -- yep, hated it. Then I thought about wanting to fill out
>>> my address -- hm, I hate it when the last name field is under the first
>>> name. Gah, the zip should always be next to the city! Oh, so, I don't hate
>>> it! It's exactly correct! lol
>>>
>>> And the login/reg is perfect, I'd say ubiquitous. It needs no further
>>> discussion IMO and can just get stamped as a pattern :)
>>>
>>> Once again, great work!
>>>
>>> Greg
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Sep 23, 2016 at 2:44 AM, SJ Cox <sjcox at redhat.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello UXD and PatternFly community,
>>>>
>>>> Would love to get your input on when, if ever, multi-column forms are
>>>> okay.
>>>>
>>>> This sprint the PatternFly team is working on the conceptual design for
>>>> multi column forms.  In the case of multi column forms, it’s mostly best
>>>> practice to avoid their use. The main problem is that using multiple
>>>> columns within forms could cause the potential for users to interpret the
>>>> fields inconsistently.
>>>>
>>>> However, there are a couple exceptions that seem to be acceptable.
>>>>
>>>> - The main exception for using multi-column forms that cause the least
>>>> amount of confusion were strictly for name and address fields.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> - The second exception is when there are two different form choices.
>>>> User must choose to fill out one or the other.  In this case, when the
>>>> forms fields are shown next to each other in a multi column format, there
>>>> is little confusion as long as the distinction of the two form choices are
>>>> clear.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Would love to hear your thoughts and input on this topic.  Are there
>>>> any other scenarios that are acceptable?  Do you agree with the conclusion?
>>>>
>>>> Thank you!!
>>>> SJ
>>>>
>>>> *Sarah Jane Cox*
>>>> User Interaction Designer
>>>> User Experience Design Team
>>>>
>>>> Red Hat, Inc.
>>>> <http://www.redhat.com/about/whoisredhat/redhatstories.html?intcmp=70160000000TB9vAAG&>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Patternfly mailing list
>>>> Patternfly at redhat.com
>>>> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/patternfly
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Greg Sheremeta, MBA
>>> Red Hat, Inc.
>>> Sr. Software Engineer
>>> gshereme at redhat.com
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Patternfly mailing list
>>> Patternfly at redhat.com
>>> https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/patternfly
>>>
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>


-- 
Matt Carrano
Sr. Interaction Designer
Red Hat, Inc.
mcarrano at redhat.com
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