Three design patterns exist for inactive UI commands: showing them as normal commands with an error message if clicked, a visibly disabled state, or completely hiding unavailable options.
Interesting and thank you for the in-depth research.
I'd like to see some examples because not only is greying out a button a UX decision, but also when and how you show the help text.
Do you show the required text after the button is selected? before? how do you show this information that the user needs to see in order to know why the button is disabled?
Recently, I found myself in this dilemma as I started questioning when it made sense to use one thing or the other. Your text was extremely enlightening, bringing several perspectives. I admit that, just like you, I tend to rely more on tests and on how people actually interact.
Yeah it's interesting. There are so many basic design patterns that we have strong opinions on how we should or shouldn't use them but then there are also so many conversation around whether those opinions are useful in all cases. You'd think by now we would know exactly what is right and wrong and when to use each pattern in every circumstance but at the end of the day, it just...depends. That makes the conversation endless and "bad" design patterns can be useful and desired in certain circumstances by a certain culture or sub-culture as well. I also observed that as time goes on, we desire or re-desire certain patterns like a trend. It's interesting.
Interesting and thank you for the in-depth research.
I'd like to see some examples because not only is greying out a button a UX decision, but also when and how you show the help text.
Do you show the required text after the button is selected? before? how do you show this information that the user needs to see in order to know why the button is disabled?
That 'depends' for sure on the case.
Recently, I found myself in this dilemma as I started questioning when it made sense to use one thing or the other. Your text was extremely enlightening, bringing several perspectives. I admit that, just like you, I tend to rely more on tests and on how people actually interact.
Thank you Camila,
Yeah it's interesting. There are so many basic design patterns that we have strong opinions on how we should or shouldn't use them but then there are also so many conversation around whether those opinions are useful in all cases. You'd think by now we would know exactly what is right and wrong and when to use each pattern in every circumstance but at the end of the day, it just...depends. That makes the conversation endless and "bad" design patterns can be useful and desired in certain circumstances by a certain culture or sub-culture as well. I also observed that as time goes on, we desire or re-desire certain patterns like a trend. It's interesting.