Name that Feature… (Any)

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The feature that allows an user to type in a character and the list will drill down to that point alphabetically, is called what? (I’m writing requirements, and I need to ‘name’ it)

Example: If I have a drop down list for states, and I type a “D”, the list will automatically zoom to “Deleware”. or
I have a drop down list with Dr.’s names…. and I typ an “F”…. the list zooms to the first “F” entry… and as I add an “i”, it zooms to “Fi”‘s

Puzzled

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I believe that they are called “Accelerate Keys”

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hmmm… I looked that term up in my “MS Manual of Style” and it gave me:

accelerator key
Obsolete term to refer to refer to a keyboard key or key combination. Do not use. Use shortcut key instead.

In thinking about it, I’ve come up with some other descriptitive terms….
A
Progressive (because it drills further with each letter entry)
Sequence (because it’s following the predetermined organization)
Search (because it is helping the user find an instance)

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Is “Auto-Complete” what you are looking for?

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oooooh… I think we’re on to something!
Auto. YES! That describes it.
Complete. Would be true for my first exampel (I see now how that example would be missleading… but my SECOND example is more accurate)

It’s more like “Auto – ‘Gets you part way there” (because it doesn’t truely finish the sequence… but hones in on a seclection option)

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HM, it seems to me that accelerator key is a subset of shortcut key and would be correct.

In VB you set the Accelerator Property of a Label.

However, you may be correct.

AutoComplete is a function in MS Word enables you to insert entire items

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The ListBox object on a VB UserForm has a property called MatchEntry. The help file describes the possibilities as follows:

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Ways to match entries in a list

Microsoft Forms provides three ways to match a value entered by the user with an entry that exists in the list of a ListBox or ComboBox:

• No matching

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it suggests that Microsoft doesn’t really have a good name for it either.

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[/indent] Then let’s just name it. I like Match Keystroke.

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I’ve heard that refered to as a TypeDown list.

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And just to add to the list, I’ve heard this referred to as ‘incremental search’ (think it was in an article by Ken Getz, many muons ago).

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Hey, I think we have a winner…. when I gave the ‘list of choices’ to the developers, they agreed with….

Typedown List

Thanks Everyone

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Why not invent a term of your own? Something like “AutoNavigation” or “Search as you type” (with an appropriate definition/ explanation of course). Never know – you might just knock the socks off your audience with such esoteric terminology that they’ve not even heard before, with them believing you belong on a plane of gurus of hitherto unheard of high elevation.

Alan

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“Search as you type” sounds more like the way I used to type when I started to use computers…

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