Change lookup control 'combo' to include source

Related products: Universal GUI

Current situation

The lookup control 'combo' behaves as a combination of autocomplete + dropdown menu. When you fill in a value that's not present in the source table, it automatically removes the input when you perform another action. However, if you made a mistake and this is the last field you fill in before saving, you'll save a record with an empty field. Because it happens instantly after you press save (from the user's perspective) it has a high chance of going unnoticed. Even more so when the list and form are on different tab pages.



Now, the source (read-only) control makes sure you can only enter existing values. But this setting doesn't have a dropdown menu.



Suggestion

Perhaps it would make more sense to change the 'combo' control into a combination of source (read-only) + dropdown menu. This way users can select from existing values while manual input is controlled, making it behave more like a domain. And instead of automatically clearing the last field, it will notify the user that they're entering a non-existent value.
Hi Youssry,



Thanks for posting your idea to improve our user interface!



Technically there is no difference between leaving the control to save the edited row or leaving it to access another control. So we have to choose a solution here where we help the user as much as we can without the user getting annoyed by extra notifications, etc.



Knowing this, what should have your preference to work with?



Kind regards,

Erik
I would say the user does not get a notification, but that:


  • the field does not get cleared on invalid input
  • it is not possible to save as long as invalid input is given

Perhaps in combination with some conditional highlighting for invalid input?
Updated idea status OpenOn the backlog