ICF dynamic drop-down select behaviour is confusing our users - request to improve it

[Berto2002]

We're getting quite a lot of our users being confused about how to use the User Picker drop-down in forms; in fact it's the "dynamic drop-down select" feature generally. This is what they do:

• Click on the box
• See a list of 10 or so items to pick from
• Select one of them

The above is classic drop-down list behaviour for a user but it means they only select from the displayed 10 options and miss-out on all the others they would need to type to see. In short, the dynamic drop-down select is trying to do two things at once but not making this clear to the users. It's trying to be a drop-down AND a search box. This is clever but my point is that it is not explained.

The outcome is that of our 20 mobile phone authorisers, only the top 10 ever get selected and these are senior managers getting peeved when people not in their department pick their name. To workaround this, We are having to go to all the forms this is used and manually put text that says "click in the box and start typing a name".

I request you please improve this feature to avoid possible confusion by considering one or more of the following:

1. When the user clicks the field, enable the drop-down list of users to be (infinitely) scrollable; so the users see they can scroll to find the name they want (so they can use it as a 'proper' drop-down box)
2. Have a new feature in the box, which I would call data entry guidance, which describes it's multi-feature capability such as "Click here and either select or type to search"; and that text only shows before data entry and then disappears (i.e. it's not the same as 'default text')
3. Separately, or in association with the above, create a new Field Type called Search Box which has the typing feature but is NOT a drop-down so users know to type because there is no drop-down (and separately disable the typing feature for drop-downs)

This is a "drop-down" with a scroller and a "select" data entry guidance note:

This is a search box with a "search in... data entry guidance note

Kindly review this and see if any improvements can be made.

Thank you.

[Sam P]

+1

[Gareth Cantrell]

+1

Although I know to type to search, its still annoying.

This, and the fact that a single-select dropdown stops showing options after making an initial selection.

[samwoo]

+1

[JJack]

+1

[EWA]

+1

[HHH]

+1, things like these should behave "as expected"

[Berto2002]

Our latest attempts to work around the behaviour of this box displaying a limited number of people and no scroll in the drop-down. The PA of our CEO complained they were being picked too much when people didn't see their Head of Service or Director when they scroll the list that pops-up. We now have a headline of how to use it for search, text in the guidance not to pick the CEO, a check-box to discourage people using the CEO if they click it; and the Service Desk want more! lol, not. The list is sync'd in from an O365 group of all senior execs for automation purposes so to try and exclude the CEO means maintaining the list manually again.

Does anyone at HB have this on a list to improve please?

 

[Berto2002]

Bumping this one up again. This is really causing us issues. I don't know if it used to have a scroller or not but suddenly our users don't understand it any more and select whoever they see in the limited drop-down.