Control Choice - Do you use ComboBoxes instead of single-select List Boxes?
Updated by Brady Stroud [SSW] 1 year ago. See history
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ComboBoxes are better than List Boxes **for data entry** because:
- They occupy less screen space
- They are less trouble to scroll through, owing to the fact that you can afford to have more room for the list (as it's collapsed most of the time)
- As you can see in the figures below, using a combo also makes the required field indicator (\*) easier to see.
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❌ Figure: Bad Example - Using list boxes
✅ Figure: Good Example - Using ComboBoxes - takes up less screen space and the required field indication is easy to see
Note: When are single-select list boxes OK?
As mentioned before, there are exceptions to this rule. It would be hard to imagine the Include/Exclude boxes in the SQL Server Enterprise Manager's Server Registration Wizard being handled with ComboBoxes, for example.
Figure: Include/Exclude Listboxes are an example of a valid use for List Boxes
| We have a program called SSW Code Auditor to check for this rule. |
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