04-30-2023, 07:52 AM
Date Range Field - Usability issues
I've had quite a bit of difficulty setting using the "Date Range" for the Report Mode of the Statistics tab. I think I've narrowed the main problem down to a data validation issue on the date field. The problem with the current functionality is that 1) it's checking after each digit is pressed rather than after a full date has been entered, and 2) there's no feedback to the user that the keyed number will generate an invalid date -- it just doesn't accept the keypress.
These issues combine to create a confusing situation for the user. For instance:
Date field value is presently set to: 3/23/2023
Today's date is: 4/28/2023
I want to enter: 7/01/2020
What happens: Because the currently entered year is 2023, and the actual date is also 2023, when I press "7" for the month in the date field, it won't accept it. It's immediately checking for a valid date with the remaining unchanged digits in the date field (so as soon as I've typed "7" for month, it's trying to validate "7/23/2023", which isn't valid because it's in the future. And because there's no feedback to the user, it just appears as if the key wasn't pressed at all, or the program has frozen, or ???
What should happen:
--When a user is typing in a date vs. using the calendar, don't check for a valid date until the entire entry is complete, signaled by the user by either keypress of Tab or Enter, or mouse clicking out of the date field.
--If the date is invalid, give the user a notification that the date entered is invalid instead of just not allowing the keypress, which is confusing and can seem like a bug
Other usability enhancements:
-You can't highlight over top of a "/" to replace the text...you can only highlight between the "/"s.
-Calendar date picker doesn't have a dropdown arrow for the year, only for the month (I didn't realize it had a dropdown or I probably never would have discovered the above issue)
Thanks so much for this great software!
These issues combine to create a confusing situation for the user. For instance:
Date field value is presently set to: 3/23/2023
Today's date is: 4/28/2023
I want to enter: 7/01/2020
What happens: Because the currently entered year is 2023, and the actual date is also 2023, when I press "7" for the month in the date field, it won't accept it. It's immediately checking for a valid date with the remaining unchanged digits in the date field (so as soon as I've typed "7" for month, it's trying to validate "7/23/2023", which isn't valid because it's in the future. And because there's no feedback to the user, it just appears as if the key wasn't pressed at all, or the program has frozen, or ???
What should happen:
--When a user is typing in a date vs. using the calendar, don't check for a valid date until the entire entry is complete, signaled by the user by either keypress of Tab or Enter, or mouse clicking out of the date field.
--If the date is invalid, give the user a notification that the date entered is invalid instead of just not allowing the keypress, which is confusing and can seem like a bug
Other usability enhancements:
-You can't highlight over top of a "/" to replace the text...you can only highlight between the "/"s.
-Calendar date picker doesn't have a dropdown arrow for the year, only for the month (I didn't realize it had a dropdown or I probably never would have discovered the above issue)
Thanks so much for this great software!
