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Which is better to hide or disable options?
That pretty much describes your example where simply changing an adjacent option makes input possible. It’s better to use disabling rather than hiding because it helps the user anticipate what is necessary for certain options. Whenever disabling is used, you should make it clear what specifically enables the control.
Do you hide or disable controls in Stack Exchange?
Rather, hide the controls. For example don’t use disabling for controls users of a certain job or class are never allowed to use. Disabling may confuse some users who will then hunt around the window for something to do to enable them.
What to do when disabled field is hidden?
It is good to always make very clear what enables a disabled field. So users at least get a clear clue what to if they feel they need/want the disabled field. When using hidden or disabled fields, make sure you respect the reading order; place the action to show/enable higher up in the flow.
How to enable or hide disabled fields in Excel?
So users at least get a clear clue what to if they feel they need/want the disabled field. When using hidden or disabled fields, make sure you respect the reading order; place the action to show/enable higher up in the flow. So the selection legal representative is above the representative name.
How to hide or disable fields in Stack Exchange?
Enable/Disable if just a few fields affected. Hide/Show if many fields affected. It really helps to have the dependent fields immediately after the field that affects them so that the dependency is clear… either on the same line, or on the line below and indented to indicate the dependency.
Android’s UI Guidelines recommend dimming out menu items that can’t be used and only hiding them when they’re part of a context menu. Context menus change all the time, after all. Disabling Items: For the reasons mentioned above, disabling menu items but not hiding them lets users see all the options.
What happens if you leave the disabled menu item on?
Users see the disabled menu item that they want to click on, and are left entirely without a clue of what they are supposed to do to get the menu item to work. Instead, leave the menu item enabled. If there’s some reason you can’t complete the action, the menu item can display a message telling the user why.