719111 - Make the "multiple" "select" elements vertically resizable

Status: NEW

(Core :: Layout: Form Controls, enhancement)

Description

[Nicolas Barbulesco]

Hello,
Here is a "multiple" "select" element :
http://w3schools.com/tags/tryit.asp?filename=tryhtml_select_multiple
These lists are often crammed with a lot of items. The list accepts multiple selection, thanks to the keys Apple, Control, Shift...
But the user often has to scroll a lot to view the list items, to view which ones are selected and to select / de-select some item(s).
It would be nice and very helpful to be able to vertically resize the list.
Now, time has come. With modern Web browsers, the user comes back in control, and Web form components are more and more resizable by the user.
Some Web authors who are control freaks don't like that. I don't care for them.
Actually I am currently encountering this need as a Web author. I am designing and developing a Web application with such a list, populated with many items, and I want it to be resizable thanks to the Web browser, so that I don't have to develop any resizability in the Web app.
I request that the "multiple" "select" element be vertically resizable by the user.
Let's put a nice resize handle at the middle of the bottom edge. Like this but more discreet :
http://steve918.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/picture-4.png
Thanks,
Nicolas

Comment 1

[John A.]

I was just coming in to suggest such a thing, but I was wondering if maybe it should be resizable both vertically and horizontally.

Is there no use case where someone could style a list too narrow for the content of the list if the user's font settings aren't what the designer expected? A grippie in the corner like on the text boxes should be fine if 2-dimensional stretching is called for, and would also likely not add height to the element.

Also, if this is not really a core thing but rather browser-specific (Firefox, Seamonkey, etc.) I would really like to see this in Seamonkey if nowhere else.

Comment 2

[Nicolas Barbulesco]

(In reply to John A. from comment #1)

> Is there no use case where someone could style a list too narrow for the
> content of the list if the user's font settings aren't what the designer
> expected? A grippie in the corner like on the text boxes should be fine if
> 2-dimensional stretching is called for, and would also likely not add height
> to the element.

Except that :
The element we speak about never has a horizontal lift.

Comment 3

[John A.]

Attachment: Example of too-narrowly-styled select box

Attached NarrowSelectTest.html illustrating a select box styled too narrowly for its content.