Matt- Here are two suggestions depending on how your information is processed.
1. If you're doing your validation on the fly using javascript, using something like the "lost focus" event, then you can just put the message right where the user is, since whatever they just did triggered the error. This works even if the error actually exists somewhere else; for instance, if I put in my ZIP code on page 1 of a form, and the state I live in on page 2, and there was a conflict, I should put the message next to the "state" field that triggered the error if there is a conflict, even though the most likely reason is that I fat-fingered the ZIP. At least then I know where to go to fix it. 2. If you're validating on the submit action, then you can cerate a "status" box at the top of the form that gives both success, warning, and error messages in list form. You just need to make sure that the messages are well-referenced; of course you know better than to say "invalid value in field 36", unless "field 36" is the actual label of the input. Hope that helps, Dante Dante Murphy | Director of Information Architecture | D I G I T A S H E A L T H 229 South 18th Street | Rittenhouse Square | Philadelphia, PA 19103 | USA Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.digitashealth.com -----Original Message----- Are there any patterns or good examples of feedback/error type messaging in a web app? Here's a breakdown of the specific issues: ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
