Create Entries Beta: use field w/ autocompletion and browser for moods (like for tags)

[ninetydegrees]

Title:
Create Entries Beta: use field w/ autocompletion and browser for moods (like for tags)

Area:
entries

Summary:
Scrolling down the very long mood menu to pick one is not my favorite thing to do. I'd rather have the same system we have for tags: one field with autocompletion where you could also enter whatever (which would get rid of the awkward 'custom mood' field) and a browse button to load a mood browser.

Description:
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Poll #13096 Create Entries Beta: use field w/ autocompletion and browser for moods (like for tags)

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 45

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This suggestion:

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Should be implemented as-is.
18 (40.0%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
5 (11.1%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
3 (6.7%)

(I have no opinion)
19 (42.2%)

(Other: please comment)
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[montuos]

How about if, once you've selected a mood, the entered text were displayed beside the icon when it doesn't match, the way you currently see just the icon, so you could have WYSIWYG confirmation of what will actually post?

[cheyinka]

Do you think the checkbox for "custom mood" or "custom mood text" or something would be more confusing than having the text show up in case of a mismatch? (Honest question - it seems like it'd be less, but I think someone who customarily mixes and matches moods and icons is probably not the best person to answer "what will confuse J. Random User"!)

[montuos]

• Inexperienced users really, truly need WYSIWYG; that's why we have so many WYSIWYG options.
• In this case, even experienced users demonstrably need WYSIWYG, given what you noted about matching mood text overriding selecting a different mood icon.
• I feel that having a checkbox to be able to select a mood icon for custom or conflicting text is adding an extra step to simply doing it.

The more I think about it, the more I think that what I'd really want is to type in the text exactly the same way we do for tags as per the original suggestion (and definitely including the part where you type a space to get the entire list to select from), and then where the appropriate icon currently displays, the entered/selected text shows up beside it, and then if you want to you can click the mood icon to change it, or click the highlighted/outlined/otherwise-obvious space where it isn't to select one for iconless custom text. Simple and unobtrusive, but does everything you need.

[ninetydegrees]

Hmm. I like the idea of clicking on the icon to change it. I'm not sure how we can make it obvious, though. But then the current system isn't explicit either.
Would it be possible (and useful) to have 'browse' change to 'change icon' if the mood isn't a pre-defined one? I have no idea whether this kind of detection is possible (and hard to implement).

[montuos]

As far as making it obvious goes, I was thinking in terms of Create Entries Beta: outline icon on hover, plus whatever else is already done to make it obvious when you can change a user icon. Parallel construction/method, and all that.

And, oh, hey! I just finally realized that when you do a custom mood the Create Entries Beta already already does pretty much what I described, except for being able to click directly on the icon to change it! *dopeslaps self*

I do think it would be better to keep your proposed button as "browse" rather than "change", though, if only for the people who choose more by images than words.