non-remembering fields

[Mark]

My browser "remembers" what I typed previously in text fields and gives
me a drop-list of "suggestions" as I type. I generally like this
feature, but was asked to disable it for a specific text field on a web
page I maintain. I've seen instances where the feature does seem to be
disabled, so what is the trick to disable the browser from remembering
previous input for a specific text entry or two?

Mark

[Adrienne Boswell]

Mark wrote:

My browser "remembers" what I typed previously in text fields and gives
me a drop-list of "suggestions" as I type. I generally like this
feature, but was asked to disable it for a specific text field on a web
page I maintain. I've seen instances where the feature does seem to be
disabled, so what is the trick to disable the browser from remembering
previous input for a specific text entry or two?

Mark

1. It depends on the user. If the user wants to do that, then the
user should be able to do that. Don't mess with the browser.
2. It depends on the browser, and if there are any plugins or
toolbars.
3. For IE, you could put autocomplete="off"... Note, however, this is
a proprietary attribute, will not pass validation and could not be
supported by that browser in the future. Googling suggests this
method does NOT work in Firefox. Opera does not even have this
feature available, so don't even bother.
4. If the user has the Google Toolbar, and that is filling in
information, you could change the names of form items to something not
common so GT would not recognize it. Again, you would be messing with
the user's browser, and that is a no, no.

My suggestion to you is to go back to whomever asked you to disable it
and tell them to stop wanting that, then state the above reasons.

Good Luck!

--
Adrienne Boswell at work
Administrator nextBlock.com
http://atlas.nextblock.com/files/
Please respond to the group so others can share

[Mark]

Adrienne Boswell wrote:

>
1. It depends on the user. If the user wants to do that, then the
user should be able to do that. Don't mess with the browser.
2. It depends on the browser, and if there are any plugins or
toolbars.
3. For IE, you could put autocomplete="off"... Note, however, this is
a proprietary attribute, will not pass validation and could not be
supported by that browser in the future. Googling suggests this
method does NOT work in Firefox. Opera does not even have this
feature available, so don't even bother.
4. If the user has the Google Toolbar, and that is filling in
information, you could change the names of form items to something not
common so GT would not recognize it. Again, you would be messing with
the user's browser, and that is a no, no.

Well, Your reasons are noteworthy, but inconsistent with my own
experiences. Without tweaking any browser settings, there are some text
widgets on some web pages that never remember what I typed previously
(no matter how many times I revisit that page, and yet the majority of
text widgets do "remember" what I typed previously -- even on the same
web site. So, I figured the programmer is somehow deliberately turning
off the "memory" for that text widget. What I think I am hearing is
that there is no way to turn off "memory" on a widget-by-widget basis.
Correct?

Mark

[Ben Bacarisse]

Mark <Ma**********@noaa.govwrites:

My browser "remembers" what I typed previously in text fields and
gives me a drop-list of "suggestions" as I type. I generally like
this feature, but was asked to disable it for a specific text field on
a web page I maintain. I've seen instances where the feature does
seem to be disabled, so what is the trick to disable the browser from
remembering previous input for a specific text entry or two?

The two most common ways to do this are:

(a) the non-standard autocomplete="off" attribute (applied to the form
or to individual elements);

(b) adding a random element to the input element ids.

You should think about accessibility. For some users it is a huge
plus.

--
Ben.

[Mark]

Ben Bacarisse wrote:

>
You should think about accessibility. For some users it is a huge
plus.

Ben, Thanks! Your info is quite useful.

For the record, this page I'm asking about is password-protected only
for the use of 3 administrators. The particular field is a payment
amount field and the administrators find it frustrating that as soon as
they type in '2' that a whole list of previously entered values starting
with 2 pops up. And this makes it prone to inadvertently entering the
incorrect payment value. The 3 administrators asked me to prevent this
drop list from appearing for this particular widget.

Mark

[Bergamot]

Adrienne Boswell wrote:

>
3. For IE, you could put autocomplete="off"... Note, however, this is
a proprietary attribute, will not pass validation and could not be
supported by that browser in the future. Googling suggests this
method does NOT work in Firefox.

Yes, it does. Mozilla added the attribute many many years ago at the
request of a major US bank. It was a condition for supporting gecko at all.

Opera does not even have this
feature available, so don't even bother.

I don't really agree than non-support of a minor browser is grounds for
dismissal.

4. If the user has the Google Toolbar, and that is filling in
information, you could change the names of form items to something not
common so GT would not recognize it.

And what about the millions who don't have the google toolbar?

My suggestion to you is to go back to whomever asked you to disable it
and tell them to stop wanting that, then state the above reasons.

The request is not really unreasonable. There are good reasons to
prevent autocomplete, even if it is an inconvenience to some users.

--
Berg

[Adrienne Boswell]

Gazing into my crystal ball I observed Bergamot <be******@visi.com>
writing in news:5p************@mid.individual.net:

Adrienne Boswell wrote:

>>
3. For IE, you could put autocomplete="off"... Note, however, this is
a proprietary attribute, will not pass validation and could not be
supported by that browser in the future. Googling suggests this
method does NOT work in Firefox.

Yes, it does. Mozilla added the attribute many many years ago at the
request of a major US bank. It was a condition for supporting gecko at
all.

I didn't know that. Good to know.

> Opera does not even have this
feature available, so don't even bother.

I don't really agree than non-support of a minor browser is grounds
for dismissal.

I was telling the OP not to bother meaning don't worry about it because
it doesn't exist. Opera has something in the user preferences that you
call fill out, and if you start typing in something that begins with
that letter or number, it can complete it. I live in Glendale, so when
I start typing G, it suggests Glendale to be filled in (that can get
kind of annoying).

>

>4. If the user has the Google Toolbar, and that is filling in
information, you could change the names of form items to something
not common so GT would not recognize it.

And what about the millions who don't have the google toolbar?

GT recognizes certain field naming conventions which it will
automatically fill in. If the fields are named something else, GT will
not automatically fill it in. I'm sure there are other toolbars/plugins
available that act in a similar manner.

>

>My suggestion to you is to go back to whomever asked you to disable
it and tell them to stop wanting that, then state the above reasons.

The request is not really unreasonable. There are good reasons to
prevent autocomplete, even if it is an inconvenience to some users.

I have a client who uses IE. A form he fills out frequently is an
account number field that accepts 8 digits. He wanted me to sort the
autocomplete list for him. He thought this was something _I_ had
programmed in, so I explained to him that it was the _browser_ doing it.

Although autocomplete="off" is not a stardard attribute, I too have used
it, in the above case in particular.

--
Adrienne Boswell at Home
Arbpen Web Site Design Services
http://www.cavalcade-of-coding.info
Please respond to the group so others can share

[Nisse =?utf-8?Q?Engstr=C3=B6m?=]

On Thu, 08 Nov 2007 20:40:22 -0000, Adrienne Boswell wrote:

3. For IE, you could put autocomplete="off"... Note, however, this is
a proprietary attribute, will not pass validation and could not be
supported by that browser in the future. Googling suggests this
method does NOT work in Firefox. Opera does not even have this
feature available, so don't even bother.

<http://groups.google.se/group/opera.wishlist/browse_thread/thread/a489fa351bb43b53/5c0877c1c279c89d#5c0877c1c279c89d>

"This:
<INPUT TYPE="password" AUTOCOMPLETE="off">
should be working now in Opera."
The "now" refers to some 7.50 beta way back in 2004.
I haven't tested it myself.
/Nisse

[Jukka K. Korpela]

Scripsit Nisse Engström:

"This:
<INPUT TYPE="password" AUTOCOMPLETE="off">
should be working now in Opera."

The "now" refers to some 7.50 beta way back in 2004.
I haven't tested it myself.

Looking at Opera 9.10, I cannot see any autocomplete in action, or anything
related to such issues in the settings or help. Looks like a great way to
implement AUTOCOMPLE="off". :-) Now they just have to consider whether to
implement AUTOCOMPLE="on".

--
Jukka K. Korpela ("Yucca")
http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/

[Steve Swift]

Looking at Opera 9.10, I cannot see any autocomplete in action, or

anything related to such issues in the settings or help. Looks like a
great way to implement AUTOCOMPLE="off". :-) Now they just have to
consider whether to implement AUTOCOMPLE="on".

The only autocomplete I'm aware of in Opera (other than remembering
userid/password field) centres around the "Wand" tab in the settings of
Opera 9. I've entered a few phone numbers, a few email addresses, my
postal address and some other personal details which are all offered as
soon as I type something matching in an input field.

I'd prefer it if Opera would generalise this mechanism, so I could add
more "stuff" than what Opera anticipated, but I'm mostly happy with the
way it works.

--
Steve Swift
http://www.swiftys.org.uk/swifty.html
http://www.ringers.org.uk

[Adrienne Boswell]

Gazing into my crystal ball I observed Steve Swift
<St***********@gmail.comwriting in news:47******@news.greennet.net:

>Looking at Opera 9.10, I cannot see any autocomplete in action, or
anything related to such issues in the settings or help. Looks like a
great way to implement AUTOCOMPLE="off". :-) Now they just have to
consider whether to implement AUTOCOMPLE="on".

The only autocomplete I'm aware of in Opera (other than remembering
userid/password field) centres around the "Wand" tab in the settings

of

Opera 9. I've entered a few phone numbers, a few email addresses, my
postal address and some other personal details which are all offered

as

soon as I type something matching in an input field.

I'd prefer it if Opera would generalise this mechanism, so I could add
more "stuff" than what Opera anticipated, but I'm mostly happy with

the

way it works.

I use the Notes feature for this. An example is my signature at work
where I use Google Groups - no nntp access at work :(

--
Adrienne Boswell at Home
Arbpen Web Site Design Services
http://www.cavalcade-of-coding.info
Please respond to the group so others can share

[André Gillibert]

Adrienne Boswell wrote:

I use the Notes feature for this. An example is my signature at work
where I use Google Groups - no nntp access at work :(

If you've a HTTP proxy that supports tunneling (i.e. the CONNECT verb)
that's supposed to be used for secure connections (e.g. it may be
restricted to port 443), you may use desproxy and access nntp.aioe.org on
port 443.

http://desproxy.sourceforge.net/

Before doing so, you should ask your administrator to know if he allows
that.

--
If you've a question that doesn't belong to Usenet, contact me at
<ta*****************@yahoDELETETHATo.fr>