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Re: do you call a combo box a "combo box" in user documentation?

for

From: glen walker
Date: Mar 22, 2018 12:54PM

Thanks, JP. We can't completely eliminate "combo box" from our vocabulary
because of role='combobox' <https://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria-1.1/#combobox>.



On Thu, Mar 22, 2018 at 11:48 AM, JP Jamous < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

> Glen,
>
> The term Combo box comes from the Windows environment and not the
> Internet. It used to refer to the list box that has a text area where you
> can type the information and the list is populated as you type. A good
> example would be the Address bard in a browser or the edit combo in the Run
> dialog box in Windows.
>
> https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/
> ee671622(v=vs.85).aspx
>
> As this is no longer the case on the internet, I agree with your content
> editors. Dropdown is what I use to refer to combo boxes. I have been using
> this term for the last 5 years and eliminate the Combo box term from my
> head unless I am talking about a Windows application. I may refer to an
> edit field such as the Google search box as a combo box, because it let's
> you type and as you type it pulls the list of results in a dropdown menu.
>
> I think that the reason why combo box still exists in screen readers such
> as JAWS is because of Windows. If I am writing JAWS scripts for a Windows
> UI, I still refer to objects as combo boxes. The moment I am developing a
> web application or writing about one, I use dropdown element. While this is
> my own personal language, it does stay close to the intent of each type of
> object. Also, most web developers and UX designers say dropdown rather than
> combo box. In fact, I cannot recall any UX Designer or Developer stating
> combo box in the last 2 corporates I have worked at.
>
> I hope that helps.
>
>
>
> --------------------
> JP Jamous
> Senior Digital Accessibility Engineer
> E-Mail Me |Join My LinkedIn Network
> --------------------
>
>
>