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Re: Accessible Form Validation Errors

for

From: Randy Pearson
Date: Sep 10, 2004 10:19AM

> > One method, although I wonder how usable it is, it to only display
> > the item that has an error such as the email address if it is not
> > valid. This means that the backend coding must be
> configured to "spit
> > out" only problematic fields. However, this can appear strange and
> > with only 4 fields, it might be too much effort.
>
> Hmm...an interesting thought. I've seen it done that way
> before. While that
> is perhaps a bit more accessible, I do think it is a bit less
> usable having
> the form actually change.

I agree. We believe strongly in re-rendering the whole form, but using
styles and other techniques (mentioned in this thread) to draw attention to
the validation issues.

Consider a simple example like where you miss the required "City" field
while filling out your address. Perhaps you "missed" it because there was an
"Address Line 2" field into which you accidentally entered your city. If all
that gets re-displayed is the City field, you can't really fix the entire
problem. Plus you may not even realize what happened if all the fields are
not redisplayed, and think "I know I just typed my city, now why did this
(stupid) site not retain it?".

-- Randy