Select
Select allows users to make a single selection or multiple selections from a list of options.
When to use
- One choice from a known set of about five or more.
- A set too long to show as radios without taking over the form.
- Options the reader will recognise rather than need to compare.
When not to use
- Two or three options, which are clearer as radios where all of them can be seen.
- A set the reader needs to compare, since a select hides everything but the chosen one.
- More than one answer. That is checkboxes.
- A very long list. That wants a search field with suggestions.
Guidance
Do
Label the field with the value and let the placeholder say what to do. The two do different jobs.
Don't
Do not drop the label and do not say Required. The reader cannot see which field is wrong or what to put in it.
Content
What to write, and what to leave out.
- Label with the value. Queue, not Select a queue.
- The placeholder is the instruction. Choose a queue.
- Order the options so the reader can find one. Alphabetical beats the order they were added in.
- Keep option labels parallel and short.