autoexpand <select> list

VK

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Dec 27, 2005, 7:01:01 PM12/27/05

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I'm looking for autoexpand <select> list onfocus and collapse it back
onselect/onblur (the list is select-one type)

I know it is not possible directly, but I've seen here a hack by
changing dynamically position static/absolute and sel.size - cannot
google it out though.

Also some GNU/copyleft widget would be equally great.

Randy Webb

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Dec 27, 2005, 7:29:47 PM12/27/05

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VK said the following on 12/27/2005 7:01 PM:

Change its type from single to multiple and back again.

--
Randy
comp.lang.javascript FAQ - http://jibbering.com/faq & newsgroup weekly
Javascript Best Practices - http://www.JavascriptToolbox.com/bestpractices/

VK

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Dec 28, 2005, 6:06:48 AM12/28/05

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Randy Webb wrote:
> Change its type from single to multiple and back again.

w/o breaking surrounging layout?
Full disclosure: zero-level PC-users of average-high age - the most
difficult case I met for several years :-(
You should see what are they doing with the mouse! A circle is a line
in comparison. I want to make the interface as mouseless as possible
(hitting the right keys is overall doable by them).

Either I can make the conventional <select> to expand/collapse on
focus/blur or I need to write a DHTML pseudo-select widget (unless
already written).

bwu...@gmail.com

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Dec 28, 2005, 7:42:12 AM12/28/05

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VK napisal(a):

> Randy Webb wrote:
> > Change its type from single to multiple and back again.
>

> Either I can make the conventional <select> to expand/collapse on
> focus/blur or I need to write a DHTML pseudo-select widget (unless
> already written).

What about making a simple "multiple" and remove all the old selections
whenever a new one is made?

VK

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Dec 28, 2005, 8:26:09 AM12/28/05

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bwu...@gmail.com wrote:
> What about making a simple "multiple" and remove all the old selections
> whenever a new one is made?

No, it is not a problem to make multiple choices from one <select>.

This is select-one list(s).
<select size="1">

Two major problems:
1) The idea that the there are *more* options than the one you're
currently seeing (just scroll with arrow keys) is *not the obvious
one*. Also the idea that if the option you're seeing is white on blue
that it is in focus so you can scroll with arrows keys for more
options. Together it brings a complex intellectual challenge I would
need to clear to each user.

2) You need to click on <select> to open it. You can just scroll with
arrow keys but then you see only one option at the time, so you don't
see neither what options do you have in whole nor you remember that did
you scroll out.
I see some mouse clicks made and I don't want to see them anymore. It's
like a guy coming from the pub at Saturday night: with all possible
curbes and circles around wrong fields, <reset> and <submit>.

I want to stress out that these are not some mental cases - just people
with not PC experience. A valuable possibility to look fresh at things
we used to take for given by the way.

Any way, instead of organizing Top Mouse crash courses I would like to
have anything working as select-one list expanding onfocus and
collapsing onselect/onblur. I'm currently thinking of a DHTML menu
variant (actual selection could be kept in hidden form field) unless
there is something less complicated but reliable.

P.S. Having all select.size == select.length is ruled out as some lists
are pretty long plus the whole page gets too huge and complicated.