Don't confuse user input with what the system processes. Outlook is an awesome example of a time field being able to accept a reasonably large array of time formats and internally translate them to something usable by the machine.
There's a tenet in programming that sounds roughly like "input anything, output perfectly", meaning that nearly any value in the known universe can be entered into a system, and something will always come out and will come out in a consistent, reliable format. Technically, you'd want something as free as a normal text field. And then when it blurs, have a Javascript event magically parse this text field into a nice looking string. Just like Outlook. Personally, I hate dropdowns because they fly in the face of this type of interaction. Combo boxes would be nice too, but there isn't native support for that kind of thing (there are webkits and what not). On Tue, Jul 22, 2008 at 4:23 PM, Sorensen, Shannon M - MWL < [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Currently they can enter anything they want, for example they could > enter "eleven in the morning" or "11pm" or "11:00 am" ect. The entry > just gets read and acted upon. So right now nothing is an error. > > The new system needs be able to track and store entered times, so they > can know longer be freeform text. > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Steven Chalmers [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 4:23 AM > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Entering military time on web > > > > I agree with steve.schang. What are you trying to fix? Can you > > simply use the same input mechanism they are using on the green > > screen? > > > > You say that you would like to reduce potential errors but what > > errors are they experiencing right now? > > > > > > Steven Chalmers > > > > > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > > Posted from the new ixda.org > > http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=31500 > > > > > > ________________________________________________________________ > 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 > ________________________________________________________________ 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
