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Suggestions

Auto-suggestion is a powerful tool that reduces data input. Typical users are very poor at query formulation: if they don’t get good results on the first try, later search attempts rarely succeed. When autocomplete suggestions work well, they help the user articulate better search queries.

Usage​

  • ensure that auto-suggestions are useful. Poorly designed auto-suggestions can confuse and distract users. Thus, use spelling auto-corrections, recognition of root words, and predictive text in order to improve the tool

  • present less than 10 items in the list of suggestions (and without a scrollbar) so the information doesn’t become overwhelming

  • allow for keyboard navigation for the list of suggestions. Once a user scrolls down past the last item, they should return to the top of the list. The Esc key should allow users to exit the list

  • highlight differences between the inputted information and suggested information. For example, the input text might have a standard weight, while suggested terms are bolded