ns-inputter

Introduction

The ns-inputter is a multi-purpose wrapper component that helps with the display of the following form control types:

• Text (including tel, email, and number)
• Radio buttons
• Checkboxes
• Select (drop-downs)
• Textareas

These types of inputs are used to help customers enter and select information.

If you would like to use a password input then please see the ns-password component.

Most common input types

Text input

The text input is ideal for entering text that takes up a single line, such as asking a customer their name or email address. If you require a longer answer from a customer then you should use the textarea input type.

See <ns-inputter> text input on Storybook.

💚 Do's	💔 Don'ts
Only use our specified text type. (eg. Text, Email etc)	Use more than one text input within an inputter
Use autocomplete attribute	Put anything inside the text input
Base width of input on expected length of input
Make your labels easy to read and understand

Radio Buttons

Radio buttons are for when customers need to select only one option from a list. If you need them to select multiple options then you should use checkboxes. If there are many items to choose from then you should consider a select instead.

Radio buttons are usually the answers to a question asked in the heading attribute of the ns-inputter - such as "Are you a British Gas customer?".

Note on the size of the heading for radio buttons

Radio buttons come with a heading that inherits size 4, which is larger than the default label size and can visually look odd when grouped with other ns-inputters.

To match this heading's size with other ns-inputter labels', group all associated elements in an ns-form-group. This will help keep a logical visual hierarchy when using radio buttons grouped with other inputs.

See <ns-inputter> radio buttons on Storybook.

💚 Do's	💔 Don'ts
Keep you heading/legend short	Use just one
Make your labels easy to read and understand	Pre-select an option
Use a label with each radio button	Place radio button side by side
Associate every radio button with it's label using ID & for attributes	Put links in the label
Consider using a select for more than 5

Checkboxes

Checkboxes are for when customers can select multiple options from a list, or choose to toggle a single option on or off. If you need them to select a single option from a list then you should use radio buttons.

Checkboxes are usually the answers to a question asked in the heading attribute of the ns-inputter - such as "Which British Gas services would you like to choose?".

Note on the size of the heading for checkboxes

Checkboxes come with a heading that inherits size 4, which is larger than the default label size and can visually look odd when grouped with other ns-inputters.

To match this heading's size with other ns-inputter labels', group all associated elements in an ns-form-group. This will help keep a logical visual hierarchy when using checkboxes grouped with other inputs.

See <ns-inputter> checkboxes on Storybook.

💚 Do's	💔 Don'ts
Keep you heading/legend short	Use as lists
Make your labels easy to read and understand	Use as a radio button
Use only one label with each checkbox	Pre-select any option(s)
Allow user to opt in as opposed to opt out	Put links in the label
Consider splitting question out for when more than 5 checkboxes are required

Inline variant of Radio buttons and Checkboxes

This is aimed at a small cluster of contextual questions with a few short answers. It works well especially for mobile as there is a larger hit area for the customer as well as there being a manageable cognitive load. The decoration allows the customer to focus on the answers.

When to use it

When you are trying to get a simple set of answers from the customer where the answers are short, and the number of potential answers is below 4-5.

Use the contextual helper text to explain a more complicated question or to offer help or context. If the question and answer is really obvious then you may not need a contextual helper.

See <ns-inputter> radio inline/checkbox inline on Storybook.

💚 Do's	💔 Don'ts
Keep the set of questions below 5	Ask too many questions on a page
Make your labels concise and clear	Ask overly long questions
Keep the answers short and to the point	Ask long hard to understand questions
Keep the number of answers below 5	Have to many answers
Consider keeping the question set contextual	Mix the types of information you are asking in one section
Consider using multiple pages to break up the question sets	Cram too many questions in a section
Consider the conventional Radio Button or Select menus to questions with more than 5 answers

Select

Selects should be used to select an item from a list of many choices. Selects can be problematic for screen reader users if there is a long list of options. Consider distilling your questions so that there are fewer options, this might allow you to use radio buttons instead.

See <ns-inputter> select on Storybook.

💚 Do's	💔 Don'ts
If adding a "Please Select" option then add an empty value="" attribute
Consider improving your questions to offer fewer options

Textarea

Textareas are used for capturing a longer answer. Always consider whether or not you need to ask a customer a free form question before doing so.

You can see an example of <ns-inputter> textarea here.

💚 Do's	💔 Don'ts
Always include a label	Add placeholder content
Consider asking more specific questions	Use this for addresses

Date input

Use the ns-datepicker component instead.

Functionality

The ns-inputter provides the following attributes and functionality:

Headings

The heading attribute is used for checkboxes and radio buttons to provide a <legend>. These are usually in the form of a question - such as "Are you a British Gas customer?".

💚 Do's	💔 Don'ts
Use to Introduce a set of checkboxes or radio buttons
Use for questions
Use sentence case
Only use text
Punctuate sentences

Labels

Every input requires a label. Your labels should be easy to read and understand. You must not use a placeholder as a label.

💚 Do's	💔 Don'ts
Be concise	Use full stops
Use <label> element	Add classes to labels
Use sentence case	Use as links
Only use text	Rely on placeholders
	Put links in the label

Helper text

The helper attribute allows you to add a message between the label and the input to help the user to fill in the input.

When used with radio buttons or checkboxes, this will appear between the <legend> and the options.

💚 Do's	💔 Don'ts
Keep it to one line	Use for error messaging
Use it to explain why we need information	Put examples of inputs inside
Use it when the reason for asking maybe unclear
Use as a prompt

Tip Detail

If you need to provide more detailed context to the options available, you can use the tip detail in conjuntion with the helper.

💚 Do's	💔 Don'ts
Use to provide additional context to helper text	Repeat helper text
Use basic formatting for copy	Add imagery
Use as an explanation	Exceed two paragraphs. Link off if necessary
Use as a prompt

Placeholder

The placeholder is for providing the customer with an example of what you expect them to input into the field. This should not be used as a replacement for either a <label> or helper text.

💚 Do's	💔 Don'ts
Provide example of expected input	Use real data
Use 'eg.' before example	Use as an explanation or a prompt

Validation

Validation is there to assist the customer in providing valid information. If information is missing, or the information they have provided does not align with the field type, then an error message is displayed so enable the customer to identify the mistake, and help them to correct it.

The following is a list of validation types that <ns-inputter> supports. These can be used individually or in a combination:

Validation type	Usage
isRequired	value must be completed
isNumber	value must be a number
isInteger	value must be a whole number with no decimal point
isPostcode(includeEIR)	value must be a valid UK or Ireland postcode
isFirstName	value must only contain letters, apostrophes, or hyphens. There is a character limit of 24
isLastName	value must only contain letters, apostrophes, or hyphens. There is a character limit of 32
isFullName	value must only contain letters, apostrophes, or hyphens. There is a character limit of 60
isTitle	value must be a valid title prefix
isEmail	value must be in a valid email format
isPhoneNumber(includeIreland)	value must be in a valid UK or Ireland telephone format
isMobileNumber	value must be in a valid mobile phone format
isPassword	value must be a password
isDate	value must be a date
minDate(date)	value must be a date no earlier than the date set in brackets
maxDate(date)	value must be a date no later than the date set in brackets
isDateOfBirth	value must be the customers date of birth
minLength(x)	value must be no shorter in length than the number set in brackets
maxLength(x)	value must be no longer in length than the number set in brackets

💚 Do's	💔 Don'ts
Use only when required	Use real data
Only use to validate the format of the input	Don't used for...

Masks and separators

The mask is similar to a placeholder, this can be used to show what can be entered. However it stays when values are entered.

The separator is used with the mask to manipulate the inputted value if it needs to be formatted in a certain way, like as a sort code or reference number.

See <ns-inputter> mask on Storybook.

See <ns-inputter> separator on Storybook.

💚 Do's	💔 Don'ts
Only use an input type	Use a textarea, checkbox or radio button
Only use a character for a separator	Use a "placeholder" attribute on the input
	Put more than one separator together, e.g. 00--00
	Start or end with a separator

Autocomplete and input sizing

• Use native autocompletes on inputs (Autocomplete attribute documentation)
• Inputs will resize when using the autocomplete attribute for honorific-prefix, given-name, family-name and postal-code.

Considerations of best practices

• Use defined conventions for common fields.
• Use standard examples for placeholder copy.
• If you are asking for first and last name within a text input, spell check should be disabled.
• Refer to the text input auto complete definitions.
• Always try and have a default selected radio button unless... .

Usage

View example on Storybook

Component placement

The ns-inputter component can be used in the following components:

• ns-form
• ns-form-group

Specification

Attribute	Property	Type	Default	Options	Description
name	name	string			The name of this field as it will display in the form data.
value	value	string	''		The value of the input or group of inputs inside ns-inputter. This can be used to add an initial value
labelID	labelID	string			Used if the label isn't part of the inputter
heading	heading	string			Used for checkboxes and radio buttons instead of a label
validation	validation	array		isRequired, isNumber, isInteger, isPostcode(includeEIR), isFirstName, isLastName, isFullName, isTitle, isEmail, isPhoneNumber(includeIreland), isMobileNumber, isPassword, isDate, minDate(date), maxDate(date), isDateOfBirth, minLength(x), maxLength(x)	A way to assist that valid values are added and to show an error message when they're not.
helper	helper	string			Adds a message between the label and the input. Used to convey a message to help the user to fill in the input
open-helper	isHelperOpen	boolean	false	true, false	Setting this to true will force the helper tip details to be open (expanded) on load of the inputter
mask	mask	string			Shows what can be entered. Similar to a placeholder, but stays when values are entered.
separator	separator	string			Allows the mask to manipulate the inputted value if it needs to be formatted in a certain way.
ignore-separator	ignoreSeparator	boolean	false	true, false	Setting this to true will force length validations to not include the separator when calculating the length

Slots	Type
label	label tag
tip-details	p tag
anonymous	label input select

Event	Description
change	Will be dispatched when input changes
helper-toggle	Will be dispatched when helper tip details is toggled between open and collapsed state

Specification notes

Helper

• A way to help the user understand why or why not enter information.

LabelID

• Used if the label is outside of ns-inputter, such as a heading for the page. Always try to use a label or the heading first. Only use this if the element you are referring to and the label are the same.

Mask

• This will create a max length on the input to the length of the mask.

Separator

• Requires a mask. Can only be one character.

Ignore Separator

• Setting the ignoreseparator property to true will force length validations (such as minLength and maxLength) to not include the separator when calculating the length. eg. With '-' as the separator: '12-34-56' would have a length of 8, if ignoreseparator is true it would count it as 6 characters

Anonymous slot

• For single type inputs (text, email, etc), there's no need to add id/for unless you need to on the <label> and <input>
• Make sure to add id/for if it is a checkbox, select or radio input type.
• Be careful when adding additional elements outside of input and label * these scenarios haven't been tested and may need a request for change raised.

Label slot

• To be used for single input types (text, email, etc).

Tip-details slot

• This requires helper property. This is initially hidden and can be revealed by the user when they click on the helper text.

Validation

• It is possible to have multiple validations. For example: ["isRequired", "isNumber", "isInteger"]

• Some of the validation options can be configured by passing in values within the parentheses:

  • minLength(x) - Shows error if the input value is less than x chars.

  • maxLength(x) - Shows error if the input value is greater than x chars.

  • isDate() - Shows error if the input value is not a valid date, the expected format is dd/mm/yyyy

  • minDate(date) - Shows an error if the input value date is less than provided date. eg. minDate('20/12/2020')

  • maxDate(date) - Shows an error if the input vale date is greater than the provided date. eg. maxDate('31/12/2022')

  • isPostcode(includeEircode) - Shows an error if the input value is not a valid UK postcode. This validation will include Eircode (Irish postcodes) when you pass a parameter of true to the validation function. eg. isPostcode(true)

  • isPhoneNumber(includeIreland) - Shows an error if the input value is not a valid UK phone number. This validation will include Irish phone numbers when you pass a parameter of true to the validation function. eg. isPhoneNumber(true)

Feedback

• Do you have insights or concerns to share? You can raise an issue via Github bugs.
• See all the issues already raised via Github issues.

💩 🎉 🦄 If you have any questions, contact us on Microsoft Teams in the Nucleus Design System channels.

Related links

• ns-form
• ns-form-group
• ns-datepicker
• ns-password
• ns-cta