37. Auto Complete

Auto Complete

Fields in WOW can be configured to be "auto complete" fields. When a user begins typing

information into an auto complete field, WOW will show a drop down containing the possible

values which could complete the user's typing, and highlight the first possible completion.

For example, a user may be searching on a state value as shown below:

When the user types an 'M', all the states beginning with the letter 'M' are shown. The first

match (Maine) is highlighted.

The user continues to type, entering an 'i' after the 'M'. Only states beginning with 'Mi' are shown.

Next, the user types an 'n'. The only matching state (Minnesota) is shown in the drop down

and has been auto completed in the search field.

At any time during the typing, the user could also use the arrow keys or mouse to select a

different value from the drop down to populate the search field with. Using an auto complete

field can be useful if there are too many possible values to display in a normal possible values

drop down, or if you want to show the user the possible values for the field while still allowing

the user to enter a new value which is not among the existing possible values.

Tags: AUTOCOMPLETE , Predictive Search, Google Search, Text search, single search bar, possible values as you type