![]() ![]() On the same Android operating system version Android big button numeric keyboard implementations vary-and many do not correctly implement the specification’s requirements for negative numbers and decimal points. In testing on Android (both Chrome and the older Android Browser), Firefox for Android, and Windows Phone, the only way to trigger a big button keyboard is to ignore the W3C specification and use type="number". We can choose between following the specification and having a sub-optimal keyboard for numeric input on a large swath of devices, or we can explore other options to make this work. There very useful ways to opt-in to the big button numeric keyboard, available for use in browsers today: `type="text"` Keyboard on Android 6 (Samsung Galaxy S7) Useful Pragmatism to 'Useful Pragmatism' # This leaves a lot of numeric input fields with the undesirable small button, default type="text" keyboard. ![]() Spinbox would be valuable there, but those fields may need leading zeros.įrom the notes in the specification, we can glean that type="number" is intended for numbers like Prices, Ages, and Years type="tel" for Phone Numbers type="text" for everything else. Minutes and Seconds fields are obvious counter-examples to the specification’s language. A simple way of determining whether to use type=number is to consider whether it would make sense for the input control to have a spinbox interface (e.g. For example, it would be inappropriate for credit card numbers or US postal codes. The type=number state is not appropriate for input that happens to only consist of numbers but isn’t strictly speaking a number. The important and problematic thing here is that values that technically obey the floating point specification definition above may work with. Floating Point Numbers may also have a leading - to denote a negative number.įor simplification purposes note that I’ve omitted the scientific notation part of the specification, which we will try to avoid showing users as well (we’ll explain more about this later). ![]() The most important piece of this puzzle is the value which must be a Floating Point Number.įloating Point Numbers are comprised of one or more characters in the range 0-9 (numbers, yeah?), optionally followed by a decimal point and more 0-9 characters. Wait, come back! The HTML5 specification for input type="number" will provide us with clues to what kind of input will be accepted by the control, so let’s level-set this thing. Let’s consult the Specification to 'Let’s consult the Specification' # Unfortunately, that assumption would be wrong. You might assume to just use for all of the above. ![]() Times (Minutes or Seconds may have leading zeros).Credit Card Security Codes: CVV, CVC, or CSC (may also have leading zeros).Zip Codes (in the US these can contain leading zeros).Prices (sometimes integers with thousands separators, but often used as non-integers).The usability difference between the small button and large button keyboards for numeric input is stark: `type="text"` Keyboard on Android 6 (Samsung Galaxy S7) `type="number"` Numeric Keyboard on Android 6 (Samsung Galaxy S7)īut how does the browser know when to show this improved numeric keyboard? How can a developer inform the browser of the user’s intent and context? Of course, variability exists there too.Ĭonsider a few examples of the many different types of numeric input we may need to capture on our web forms: For example, when a site specifies that the user should type a number, the browser can show a number-pad like keyboard (0 through 9) with extra large buttons for easier, faster, and more accurate numeric input. This browser variability is particularly true with touch devices, especially in relation to the primary innovation of the touchscreen keyboard: its malleability, or adaptation its mode of input to best suit the context. The battle tested truth of new web features and standards proved very true with these new form controls: browser implementations vary. HTML5 brought us updates, specifying new types linked with new interface controls, progressively enhancing from the vanilla text inputs of yesteryear. For a long time, forms controls were stagnant and reliable. Forms are the bedrock upon which users interact with the web. ![]()
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