Rules for editing list rows one-by-one or in bulk

The foundation of a list is the row, and all the interactions associated with it. Far from being mundane or niche, row functionality is important in a user's process. Let's look at some emerging patterns that work well in Enterprise applications.

List actions on individual rows
Typically list rows have actions associated with them such as edit, archive, delete, move to, etc. Balancing easy access to these options without cluttering the list can be a huge challenge.
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Lists: make it easy for users to find and edit information

Users spend much of their day interacting with lists, making them a critical part of any enterprise software. Let's resolve to make lists that are easy to filter, simple to navigate and easy on the eyes.  Here's how:

Lists need to be dense
Typically businesses deal with 100s or 1,000s of results even after results have been filtered and sorted. And within each result is typically 5-15 pieces of information that need to be displayed within each row. (Typically a thumbnail photo, price, description, item attributes such as color, size or location, and other information related to the niche business the software is designed to serve).

With this much information to be displayed, entreprise software designers need to be smart about how to lay out a list. Commonly, lists are grids, with an X and Y axis of information. In email for example, the Y axis is the previous email descending in chronological order by default. The X axis typically contains column titles. The problem with using this model in entreprise software is that the X axis can become crowded to the point of being unusable. Read more