Re: Proposal: "On Off" switch HTML forms Input Object

 From: Paul Robinson <PAUL@tdr.com>

| 	In the options available for Text and Graphical User Interfaces
|     and input forms under HTML, there are many different input objects,
|     otherwise known as "widgets", which are available including but not
|     limited to list, combo, and check boxes, and radio buttons.  One
|     particular type of selector is not present: the "on-off" switch.
|     This document proposes to rectify the situation by adding this
|     feature to HTML forms input.
---

Umm. It looks to me like what you're proposing is exactly a checkbox,
except for the visuals.  It might be more attractive to generalize this
by supporting author-specified visuals for the input elements.  This
might look like:

	<INPUT NAME="Power" TYPE="CHECKBOX" VALUE="power-on" CHECKED
		CHECKEDVISUAL="switched-on.gif"
		UNCHECKEDVISUAL="switched-off.gif">Power</INPUT>

But, it would be nicer to get this added to the CSS1 attributes, so
you could use CLASS=ONOFF in your document and specify the selectors
once, in the stylesheet:

	CHECKBOX.ONOFF {checked-visual:	switched-on.gif;
			unchecked-visual: switched-off.gif}

However, it would also be nice to be able to do this for arbitrary sets
of values, so a SELECT could have a different visual for each of
its alternative values.  Doing that would require adding a VALUE
component to theCSS1 selector syntax:

	CHECKBOX.ONOFF=on {visual: switched-on.gif}

which would allow customizing the look of all INPUTs based on their
current value.  The specific syntax suggested there is the '=' followed
by a value meaning "when an element of the indicated type has the
value;" and with a class component allowed to precede the value
component.

I like this idea, but in a world of constrained resources, I'd rather
see more kinds of form widgets, like RANGE (from HTML 3.0),
spin boxes, and file selectors.

[[My apologies if I am unconsciously repeating someone's previous
suggestion here; I have a deja vu feeling that I may have seen this
proposed before, butI can't place it.  If so, I would welcome a
pointer.]]

scott

--
scott preece
motorola/mcg urbana design center	1101 e. university, urbana, il   61801
phone:	217-384-8589			  fax:	217-384-8550
internet mail:	preece@urbana.mcd.mot.com

Received on Monday, 1 July 1996 17:16:21 UTC