Is something like this not possible with a wildcard? I'm trying to send an article to people who do not have any preferences, and if they do have preferences don't show it. I cannot find any documentation on it.
Thanks in advance
*The star means all groups
*|INTERESTED:*|*
//Do nothing
*|ELSE:|*
//Show all
*|END:INTERESTED:|*
No, MailChimp's conditional merge tags don't support wildcards inside of those merge tags.
If the end goal is to show X content to subscribers who have no group affiliations and show Y content to subscribers who have any group affiliations, there are a few ways to accomplish this.
a) You can use *|INTERESTED:GroupTitle:GroupName1,GroupName2,GroupName3|*, etc. to show content to any members of those 3 groups. If you have more than that, of course, just add all of your groups in there with that comma-seperated format. Then, use the *|ELSE:|* as you already are in your example to account for people who aren't tied to any of those groups. This can be tedious though if you have a ton of groups.
b) Consider sending two separate campaigns, each set to send to a segment of your list that targets based on group affiliations (or non-affiliations).
sources:
http://kb.mailchimp.com/article/how-do-i-use-smart-merge-tags-with-groups/
http://kb.mailchimp.com/article/how-can-i-send-to-a-segment-of-my-list/
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I'm currently creating a survey on Google Form and I need to make it in 4 languages so the result of each questions are not separated depending on the language selected by the user. (so we can have graphical results of each responses without taking language into account)
This raises different questions:
1- Should I create different forms from the beginning (one for each language) OR is it better to merge all languages surveys into one & only google form linking questions by possible script/else?
2- What would be the best script to allow adding questions to the survey in the future while keeping the most accurate graph results?
3- Is it possible to give only one link to people so they decide in which language they want to take the survey? (maybe creating one form for the only purpose of choosing language, then re-direct to appropriate form?)
I really checked & couldn't find which way to create a multi-langual survey on Google Form... (if needed I will separate each questions but they are pretty linked to each other...)
You can do it this way.
First, add a radio button question to allow the user to select their preferred language.
Then, create four sections in the form, each for one language.
Next, click on the three dots and select "Go to section based on answer". Make different options "redirect" to different language sections.
I want to make a user interface for a string builder that I want to build for some users. The problem is the users sometimes have zero tech back ground. I want to know when I am not making it too complicated for my users to understand.
For example I want include a filter option for users to choose what computers they would like to select for a virus scan under a domain. Now I have to create a string builder that look like something like This
* "user input content" * or
* "user input" or
"user input" * "user input2" *
etc
now all I can think about is to give the user something like
name contains _____ ;
which only covers * "content" *
This lead me thinking about create a customized string builder for users to grab all the computers they want to scan.
eg. build your own filter ______ then provide a list of pre-defined keywords such as before, contain, anything, after that users can select and add their own words behind these keywords as filters. But then I am scared that is much too complicated as they would not know how. So I need help trying to find out When is it too complected or not for general public and if possible some suggestions on the particular case I have listed above.
You might consider something like what Brett Victor did with his Proposition 21 example where the text is largely in place with default values already filled in, but where there are user controls to interactively adjust the values.
Alternately, you could just have a single field which, without any special characters, does a simple "contains" search across the relevant fields, but which supports additional syntax (described by a '?' button) for your more advanced users.
I am trying to build a simple RSS filter in Yahoo Pipes for the first time.I would like to filter by date.
I have a bunch of RSS feeds from a "fetch feed" data source and I connect them to a filter. I am now supposed to get a item.y:published.utime field in the Rules dropdown. However, it is not there: I do not have any of the item.y fields at all.
If I start by editing an example filter, these fields are there. What is going on?
Dropdown lists include only the basic options as these are most commonly used by novices making simple pipes. Yahoo developers also left many options off the dropdown lists because some of them are quite long and would spoil the layout such as this example.. *item.y:published.day_ordinal_suffix*
If you want to use the special 'y' fields as sources of data then simply type them by hand into the rules box of the filter module using the keyboard device attached to your computer.
I've read somewhere (can't remember/find where) an article about web usability describing when to use drop downs and when to use autocomplete fields.
Basically, the article says that the human brain cannot store more then the last five options presented to choose.
For example, in a profile form, where there is your current occupation, and the system gives you a bunch of options, when you read the sixth options, your brain can't remember the first one anymore. This example is a great place to use an autocomplete field, where the user types something that he thinks that would be his occupation and then select the better from the few options filtered.
I would like to hear your opinion about this subject.
When should I use a drop-down and when I should use a Autocomplete field?
For a limited list, don't use an autocomplete edit box or combobox, but use a listbox where all values are visible all at once. For limited lists, especially with static content of up to about 8 items, this takes up real estate, but presents the user with a better immediate overview.
For less than 5 items a radiogroup or checkbox group (multiple selections) may also be better.
For lists whose content is dynamic, like a list of contacts, a (scrolling) listbox or combobox are appropriate because you never know how many items will be in the list. To keep it manageable, you will need to allow for some kind of filtering and/or autocomplete.
Autocomplete usually suffers from the fact that what the users types needs to match a string from the beginning. I hate those except for when they are used to complete a value based on what I typed in that (type of) field before. E.g. what browsers nowadays offer when filling out online forms.
Allowing a user to start typing in a combobox usually suffers the same drawback. But admittedly it doesn't need to if the filtering is based on "like %abc%" instead of "starts with abc"
When dealing with lists that can have many similar items, I really like the way GMail's "To" field handles it. You start typing any part of someone's name or e-mail address and GMail will drop down a list presenting all the contacts whose name or e-mail address contains the characters you have typed so far anywhere within them. Using the up and down keys changes the selection in the dropped down list (without affecting what you have typed) and pressing enter adds the currently selected item to the "To" field. By far the best user experience I have had so far when having to select something from a list.
Haven't found any components yet that can do this, but it's not too hard to "fake" by combining an edit box and a listbox that drops down when you start typing and has its contents is filtered based on what has been typed so far.
I would use 2 criteria,
1) How long is the list, if the list contains 5 elements you better use a combobox as it will be easier for the user (better UX)
2) In case the list is long, how easy for the user to remember the prefix of what he/she is looking for... if it's not easy, using autocomplete is irrelevant..
I'd say it depends on the diversity in the list, and the familiarity with the list items.
If for example the list contained over 5 car brands (list items I'm familiar with), no problem.
If on the other hand the list has over 5 last names, it could take me some more time before I'd make a selection.
You should probably just try out both options and trust your gut on which you find easier to use.
Here's the opposite approach:
The worst time to use an auto-complete box is when you have a finite and relatively small set of options, and the user doesn't know the range of valid options. For example, if you're selling used cars and you have a mixed bag of brands, simply listing the brands in a combobox is more efficient and easier to browse than an auto-complete method.
Being able to remember the last 5 options is most likely irrelevant unless you have a giant list of options and are requiring the user to select the most relevant item.
An alternative approach is to use both. I believe Dojo has a widget that acts as both a combobox and an auto-complete field. You can either choose to start typing and it will narrow down the possible options, or you can interact with it with your mouse and browse it like a combobox.
I usually look at how big the list is going to be. If there are going to be more than 15 options then it just seems easier to find if they can just start typing.
The other circumstance for me is when there is an other option and they can free type it. This essentially eliminates the need for two controls since you can combine in one.
The main difference has nothing to do with usability but more to do with what defines the acceptable inputs.
You normally use a ComboBox when you have a predefined list of acceptable inputs (e.g. an Enum or list of occupations).
An auto-complete field is best used when there are many known inputs BUT custom input is accepted as well. The user will become frustrated if they type "Programmer" in as their occupation but it wasn't one of the pre-defined, acceptable inputs, and they are given a message that their input is not valid.
Keep in mind that ComboBoxes do allow you to type in them to select the first matching option. Some types of ComboBoxes (depending on the UI framework you are using) even allow free-form text fields at the top or side of the field to search or add to the list.
Of coarse the best way to determine what YOUR user will prefer is testing: A/B, field, user, etc.
Hope this helps you solve your dilemma!
Our application displays tons of valuable information to our users in a table. We have a filtering capablity that is based on boolean/logic searches. Even after coaching, users still tend to not understand how to use filters because AND OR > >= etc are foreign to them. This filter is easy for programmers since it is easily translated into code. Any examples on how this can be made more user-friendly and less prone to error?
In the past, when I needed to solve this problem, I presented the users with a list of items (in one or more columns), and gave them a single text box to type text into. I would then match the text against the text in the columns, and collapse the list (removing records that do not match) as they type.
This approach reminds users of Google. Everyone knows how to Google.
If you don't like the idea of presenting a large list of all items initially, you can show an empty results pane first, and display results after a search is typed in.
Convert operators to plain English text and ask them to select from it.
For eg: To
Show me all Books whose author is [text field] and the price is [less than/greater than] [text field]
[less than/greater than] is a dropdown list
[text field] is an input box
The resulting text after the user has filled in all the fields should result in plain simple English
Eg: Show me all books whose author is Stephen King and the price is less than 10 $
I used this in an app of mine when I used to freelance and the users loved it.
Using some nifty UI programming you can give options to expand the filter to n levels.
In web applications, telerik had a good idea with their grid, you should be able to do that in desktop applications too.
you can provide some preset filters for the most common queries to that table - if that's possible with the application you are using
you can provide a "count instead of display" mechanism so the user sees how many rows he/she will potentially retrieve
you can provide them a Wiki page with some examples online
you can give them a QBE tool
hope that helps
good luck MikeD
In my experience you are simply not going to get end users to understand the difference between AND and OR conditions. Therefore I build my filters so that ANDing or ORing is built in. In general, my logic is as follows:
Criteria for different fields are ANDed together to restrict results.
Multiple values for the same field are effectively ORed together and then ANDed onto the criteria for other fields. I generally detect input into a single field of comma-separated lists (translated to IN ()), dash-separated ranges (translated to BETWEEN), wildcard values (translated to LIKE), and any combination (for example Customer ID: 1-10, 50, 52).
I find that most users intuitively understand this system.
Of course, from time to time a different interface with some degree of ORing is required and in those cases I generally have a section of the search user interface in a panel or group box labelled "Any of these is true".
I have recently been working on this problem. My solution is to be more descriptive, to use words instead of symbols and to change the words where it allows for a more readable layout. To illustrate, imagine the filter expression:
Breed == "Spaniel" AND (Age == 2 OR Colour == "White")
Certain linear Query builders might write this:
( And/Or Field Operator Value
[ ] [Breed] [=] [Spaniel]
[1] [AND] [Age] [=] [2]
[1] [OR] [Colour] [=] [White]
Or a hierarchical one may display this as:
AND
[Breed] [Is Equal To] [Spaniel]
OR
[Age] [Is Equal To] [Spaniel]
[Colour] [Is Equal To] [White]
Both of which might be readable to a developer but not so readable to the layperson.
My solution is more like:
Show ALL records where
[Breed] [Is Equal To] [Spaniel]
Show ANY records where
[Age] [Is Equal To] [Spaniel]
[Colour] [Is Equal To] [White]
So borrowing from the hierarchical approach but changing the AND and OR to an ALL or ANY. This means it can be read from top to bottom a little more easily.
I think Django's built-in admin interface has a very intuitive UI for filters.
There's a simple screenshot in the docs but there's a lot more you can do, especially when filtering on dates.
You might want to take a closer look at Django's admin interface to see if you can apply some of their tricks to your case.
I would think something similar to MS Access Query generator. You may also want to have good context sensitive help system that will guide first time users.
Theresa Neil illustrated several approaches for building complex rule interfaces (AKA predicate clauses) in the iTunes Solves the Nested Clause Dillema post. Some good examples there. I really like the way Apple does it in iTunes (although, I don't use iTunes).