Triple-State Check Boxes

The problem with a check box that is either “checked” or “unchecked” is that you have no indication of a check box was intentionally left unchecked, or if an individually simply didn’t get to it yet.

I know right now you can set the default value of check boxes to by a formula "= " which leaves the check boxes kind of “grayed out”. This is nice, but the “grayed out” look doesn’t provide much of an indication for those who don’t know what to look for. If people don’t know to hit delete on the checkbox they might also have trouble turning these back to the ‘untouched’ state.

I would say to keep the double-state check box fields, but also add a triple-state check box field. If the triple-state checkbox has not been touched it will be a blank square. A Check mark indicates “Yes” or “true”, and an “X” over the box indicates “No” or “false”.

This would be helpful as I could replace a lot of three-selection lists that I have and help clean up the interface.

Thank you!

Thomas

1 Like

I was going to suggest the opposite: make the checkbox clearly double state, instead of the more obscure triple state it has now.
I would prefer a checkbox column to default to false, without me having to add that default to the formatting. I feel that’s what the natural state of checkboxes is. :slight_smile:

When you’re in the business of having to make sure that people have actually looked at something and gave a clear answer to it, then a triple-state checkbox is really needed. :blush:

Though, why not both? Have both as an option.

1 Like

@Thomas_M - that was the reasoning behind the triple-state.

@F3_PiX - the way things are setup it works mainly as a double state and you have to do some manual fudging to make it work in its triple state.

@Thomas_M - I have let the team know of your suggestion but this is how I make it really clear that check box has not been clicked on -

1 Like

I’m aware of this, thank you. The original suggestion was to make it more obvious for people.

Aha, interesting! When I add a new table or column with a checkbox, it defaults to false.
However, I used the pre-cooked ‘todo list’ when I added a new section (it’s one of the suggested tables in there), and in that version, the checkbox’s default is nil, not false.

Thnks for your explanations.