As developers we can sometimes overlook ease of use when creating forms. We typically focus on functionality more so than end-user experience and that can leave users frustrated. Site Reference has come up with a great list of tips to help remind us of the different ways we can keep forms functional and easy to use.
Here are a few highlights that should be mandatory on any form:
- Never ask for duplicate information – For example, any forms that require a billing and shipping address should have the option of allowing the user to simply click a checkbox that will auto-populate the duplicate fields, if the information is the same.
- Make sure that mandatory fields are clearly marked – This seems like a no-brainer but nothing is more frustrating for the user than continually being returned back to the form to fill in required fields. Which brings us to number three:
- Return relevant error messages – an error message that might make sense to you as a developer may not be clear enough for the end-user. Remember, they aren’t sitting in front of a computer creating forms all day and may not be familiar with the type of information you are looking for.
- Have your form tested out by real users before releasing it – I’ve certainly run into the scenario in the past where I’ve created a form, tested it and everything seemed fine. It wasn’t until I opened up the testing where I received feedback indicating that the form progression didn’t really make sense.
Read the rest of the article here.
Shawn Adamsson
One of the original three founders of rtraction, Shawn describes his role as being a "cat herder". He ensures all of the work is done on time, on budget and spends a lot of his time facilitating the dialogue between clients, coders and the creatives. Shawn’s approach to life is based on the belief that it doesn't matter what you're doing if you enjoy the company of the people you are doing it with.
from Lifehacker: “It’s known that most spam (particularly malware such as keyloggers) originates overseas (Estonia, Moldavia, China, Poland, etc.) By blocking email from most of the undeveloped world, I’ve successfully reduced spam by 95 percent in the past year. In Outlook, click Actions > Junk E-Mail > Junk E-Mail Options. Click the International tab, then the Blocked Top-Level Domain List button. Now select the countries you wish to block.”
Very handy little tip.
Shawn Adamsson
One of the original three founders of rtraction, Shawn describes his role as being a "cat herder". He ensures all of the work is done on time, on budget and spends a lot of his time facilitating the dialogue between clients, coders and the creatives. Shawn’s approach to life is based on the belief that it doesn't matter what you're doing if you enjoy the company of the people you are doing it with.
Despite the fact that there are many excellent WYSIWYG HTML editors on the market, when designing the layout of a website to show a client a pixel perfect comp designed in Adobe Photoshop is still one of the best ways to go. One limitation of Photoshop as a layout tool has always been the fact that scaling an image in a layout is a “destructive” editing process – once you scale it down you lose image data and scaling it back up again leaves you with a low quality image. Not anymore – enter the Smart Object.
Read the rest of this entry »
Shawn Adamsson
One of the original three founders of rtraction, Shawn describes his role as being a "cat herder". He ensures all of the work is done on time, on budget and spends a lot of his time facilitating the dialogue between clients, coders and the creatives. Shawn’s approach to life is based on the belief that it doesn't matter what you're doing if you enjoy the company of the people you are doing it with.
If you are a fan of the excellent Open Source 3D modelling and animation package Blender and work somewhere that has a lot of computers sitting idle (overnight for instance), then FarmerJoe is an excellent, free renderfarm solution that’s easy to set up, is reliable, and has a web-based GUI to monitor and schedule jobs.
Based on a set of PERL scripts, binaries are available from the FarmerJoe Website for Windows, Linux and OSX : http://blender.formworks.co.nz/. While you’re there, check out some of the other excellent scripts written for Blender.
Read the rest of this entry »
Shawn Adamsson
One of the original three founders of rtraction, Shawn describes his role as being a "cat herder". He ensures all of the work is done on time, on budget and spends a lot of his time facilitating the dialogue between clients, coders and the creatives. Shawn’s approach to life is based on the belief that it doesn't matter what you're doing if you enjoy the company of the people you are doing it with.
As designers there are a couple of questions that constantly pop up? “Hey, what font is that in?” and “What will it look like with a different font?” Sometimes the answer is easy, but not always. Here are two excellent type tools online that can help answer these questions in a pinch.
Read the rest of this entry »
Shawn Adamsson
One of the original three founders of rtraction, Shawn describes his role as being a "cat herder". He ensures all of the work is done on time, on budget and spends a lot of his time facilitating the dialogue between clients, coders and the creatives. Shawn’s approach to life is based on the belief that it doesn't matter what you're doing if you enjoy the company of the people you are doing it with.
Occasionally you run into a free utility that makes complex tasks so easy that you ever wonder how you did without it. Virtualdub is a linear video processor that has been highly optimized for speed. The authour Avery Lee is, in his own words, “very impatient†which means that a lot of effort has been expended to make this application one of the fastest available for the tasks it performs.
Read the rest of this entry »
Shawn Adamsson
One of the original three founders of rtraction, Shawn describes his role as being a "cat herder". He ensures all of the work is done on time, on budget and spends a lot of his time facilitating the dialogue between clients, coders and the creatives. Shawn’s approach to life is based on the belief that it doesn't matter what you're doing if you enjoy the company of the people you are doing it with.
“If Microsoft Windows ever notifies you about a weak signal, it probably means your connection isn’t as fast or as reliable as it could be. Worse, you might lose your connection entirely in some parts of your home. If you’re looking to improve the signal for your wireless network, try some of these tips for extending your wireless range and improving your wireless network performance.”
Very straightforward advice for people new to wireless.
read more…
Shawn Adamsson
One of the original three founders of rtraction, Shawn describes his role as being a "cat herder". He ensures all of the work is done on time, on budget and spends a lot of his time facilitating the dialogue between clients, coders and the creatives. Shawn’s approach to life is based on the belief that it doesn't matter what you're doing if you enjoy the company of the people you are doing it with.
“Enterprise wireless LAN security is a persistent concern for every system administrator and CIO. Threats from both within and without the enterprise threaten your data each and every day. This download gives you the basic foundation you need to secure your enterprise wireless connections by detailing security protocols such as the Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol (PEAP), the Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol (LEAP), Cisco EAP-FAST authentication, and Microsoft IAS RADIUS. The guide also walks you through the configuration of these authentication protocols so you can properly implement them in your enterprise.” (registration with TechRepublic required)
read more…
Shawn Adamsson
One of the original three founders of rtraction, Shawn describes his role as being a "cat herder". He ensures all of the work is done on time, on budget and spends a lot of his time facilitating the dialogue between clients, coders and the creatives. Shawn’s approach to life is based on the belief that it doesn't matter what you're doing if you enjoy the company of the people you are doing it with.
“Following old-school backup routines for data backup could put your business at risk. To avoid disaster, you need to think about what data you need to recover—and how quickly.
When it comes down to the nitty-gritty details of backup, most small-business owners (along with most individual users) have a less-than-solid grasp on the reality of their backup needs. This knowledge gap should come as no surprise, since the path of least resistance is to follow the tradition of daily backup, rather than taking the time to examine one’s workflow and determine real needs.”
read more…
Shawn Adamsson
One of the original three founders of rtraction, Shawn describes his role as being a "cat herder". He ensures all of the work is done on time, on budget and spends a lot of his time facilitating the dialogue between clients, coders and the creatives. Shawn’s approach to life is based on the belief that it doesn't matter what you're doing if you enjoy the company of the people you are doing it with.
“Wireless networks, like their wired counterparts, rely on the manipulation of electrical charge to enable communication between devices. Changes or oscillations in signal strength from 0 to some maximum value (amplitude) and the rate of those oscillations (frequency) are used singularly or in combination with each other to encode and decode information.”
read more…
Shawn Adamsson
One of the original three founders of rtraction, Shawn describes his role as being a "cat herder". He ensures all of the work is done on time, on budget and spends a lot of his time facilitating the dialogue between clients, coders and the creatives. Shawn’s approach to life is based on the belief that it doesn't matter what you're doing if you enjoy the company of the people you are doing it with.
Subscribe to: