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Re: Optimum position of asterixes on web forms

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From: Jukka K. Korpela
Date: Oct 9, 2008 1:10PM

Gareth Dart wrote:

> Users without significant visual impairment derive a useful visual cue
> from the inclusion of an asterix next to required fields on a form.

The Ascii asterisk "*" isn't really an ideal character for that even when
rendered visually. It is not very noticeable, and in some fonts it's even
superscript-like. Robustness considerations seem to exclude other, more
noticeable asterisk chararacters, though. But wait...

I wonder why nobody has mentioned the approach of using an image, e.g.

<label><img alt="Required:" src="star.gif"> Email-address:</label>

This
a) lets you use a suitable prominent symbol in visual presentation
b) causes a plain English word to be presented in non-visual presentation,
instead of a name of a cryptic character (well, it's only cryptic until
you've learned and adopted the idea that asterisk means something special in
forms, but then again, anything cryptic is cryptic just as long as it has
been learned and adopted).

> We currently have a minor interdepartmental ding-dong going about
> exactly where this asterix should be placed.

Wouldn't it be logical to say present it before the field name? I would say
that it is even visually better.

--
Yucca, http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/