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Tables

Automatic Justification of Entries

Provide automatic justification of tabular data entries; a user should not have to enter blanks or other extraneous formatting characters to achieve proper justification.

Example: As a negative example, if a user enters "56" in a field four characters long,

5 6

the system should not interpret "56 __ __" as "5600".

Justification of Numeric Entries

Allow users to make numeric entries in tables without concern for justification; the computer should right-justify integers, or else justify with respect to a decimal point if present.

Example: A dollars-and-cents entry made at the beginning of a field should automatically be justified to the right

14.37

14.37

when later displayed.

Distinctive Labels Maintaining Significant Zeros

When a user must enter numeric values that will later be displayed, maintain all significant zeros; zeros should not be arbitrarily removed after a decimal point if they affect the meaning of the number in terms of significant digits.
See also:

Aiding Entry of Duplicative Data

For entry of tabular data, when entries are frequently repeated, provide users with some easy means to copy duplicated data.

Example: Perhaps a DITTO key might be provided.

Comment: A DITTO capability will speed data entry, and should prove more accurate than requiring users to rekey duplicated data.

Row Scanning Cues

For long tables, those with many rows, provide some extra visual cue to help a user scan a row accurately across columns.

Example: A blank line might be inserted after every fifth row; or perhaps adding dots between columns in every fifth row might suffice.

Example: As an alternative, provide a displayed ruler which a user can move from one row to another.

Comment: Visual aids for scanning rows are probably needed more when a user is reviewing and changing displayed data than for initial data entry. Such aids should be provided consistently, however, so that display formats for both data entry and review will be compatible.
See also:

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