3 ms·
>Why can't native dropdowns have an integrated search? At least in Firefox, the normal <select> combobox does search by prefix matching the values of <option>
by dexen 7y ago
>Why can't native dropdowns have an integrated search?
At least in Firefox, the normal <select> combobox does search by prefix matching the values of <option> tags as you type.
However it's pretty hard -nigh impossible?- to make a good globally generic search widget. Different datasets warrant widely differing matching rules (prefix matching vs. any place matching vs. any word matching; OR search vs AND search; case sensitivity; i18n concerns; non-alphanumeric characters).
- Sharlin 7y agoPrefix search in dropdown boxes is one of those small UX features that every self-respecting desktop UI kit has had since the antiquity, long before the term "UX" was even a thing. It is also something that's missing in almost all naive web-based custom dropdown components. However, its discoverability is almost nonexistent, and it's rather awkward to use because you don't see what you're actually typing. How fast should I type before the builtin timeout erases the buffer? How do I know if I made a typo? Does backspace work? And so on. Blind typing and trying to second-guess the logic behind the feature is not very fun.
- dsego 7y agoI don't understand this line of reasoning. I am sure we have text search figured out by now, any sane matching heuristic can be used.