Description

Original proposal below

Proposal: Placement of Hints in Cristal

This proposal discusses the use of hints in Cristal. Conceptually, these hints are similar to those found in XWiki Standard.

Defining Hints

Hints are small pieces of text attached to an input form. Their primary function is to provide users with contextual guidance and assistance when filling out a form field. In other applications, they are often referred to as "Helper text," but in XWiki, the correct term is "Hint."

Proposed Change in Placement

One key difference between Cristal and XWiki Standard is the placement of hints. In XWiki, hints are positioned between the field label and the input field. However, this placement can cause issues when the hint text is too long or when the screen size is small. To address this, the proposal suggests moving hints after the input field instead. This placement emphasizes their helper role while keeping them unobtrusive for more experienced users.

Problem with very long hints

Notice the space between the label and its field

Proposal for positioning in Cristal and XS

Handling Conflicts with Error Messages

A potential conflict arises when both a hint and an error message are displayed simultaneously. In such cases, the error message should take precedence, pushing the hint text further down to avoid confusion.

Applicability to XWiki

While this proposal is focused on Cristal, it could also be applied to XWiki. However, due to the scale of XWiki, implementing this change across the entire platform may be impractical unless hints are part of a reusable component.