Re: [Usability] combo box guidelines?

[Mikus Grinbergs <mikus bga com>]

> ...         I think that if the options can't fit on the screen,
> moving it down to display the maximum number of options is more
> important than preserving the current position of the combo box.

Something to keep in mind is that what the user sees may be 
*different* from what the designer thought.


My eyes are old/weak enough that I customize which fonts are used 
for my display -- principally to __increase__ the point sizes.  The 
result is that on my screen, it takes fewer characters/lines  to 
completely use up an area.

This is particularly noticeable with browsers, though I'm certain 
that I've been shown drop-down lists (e.g., combo boxes) *without* 
adequate scroll capability, whose vertical content was effectively 
truncated.  To a user, there are few things more frustrating than 
*not* being able to select what he wants, because that item has been 
positioned beyond the edge of the screen.  (This frustration doubles 
for action buttons sited at the bottom of a non-scrollable window.)

mikus


p.s.  [If I select "move" to try to reposition a window so that its
       top edge (rather than its bottom edge) is off-screen, upward
       movement stops when the top of my screen is reached.  Is
       there a way to over-ride this limitation?  Perhaps the title
       bar could stop at the top edge, but the window's content
       might continue the upward movement (i.e., go off-screen)! ]