IN FAVOUR OF HIDING FORM OPTIONS
When it affects many fields.
Steve Krug – Remove the elements that make user think and which they don’t need anyways.
Avoids clutter.
Removes excessive and unavailable controls.
Will they spend a lot of time hunting for it? Probably, if they’re expecting it.
IN FAVOUR OF DISABLING FORM OPTIONS
When there are only a few fields that are affected.
When user wants to explore and discover when the certain fields become available (I.e. Games!)
Disable forms communicate to users that the input is possible but just not now…
Disable forms help users anticipate what is necessary for certain options (in this case, they must be outside of North Carolina).
This may frustrate users when they are unable to perform an action they expect to be able to do.
QUESTION TO ASK YOURSELF
What best serves the users’ needs?
For my project right now…Users are best served by a disabled options (or enable options that brings up an error message) and explaining WHY they option is not currently available.
🙂
chau's process book 