Add "Other:" option for dropdown

[Andre601]

When adding a dropdown menu to an issue form is it pretty common to provide an Other option since we can't think of all cases in categories like Operating systems, distribution type, etc.

The current problem with this is, that we have to create a separate input type field for the other option to let them fill it out, which may result in them not doing that at all. And forcing them to fill it out also feels wrong since it would require them to input a dummy-item to have it validated.

Because of those factors would I like to suggest a new option for the dropdown which auto-adds a Other option which, when clicked, would make a text field appear that the user can/should fill out based on whether the dropdown is required or not.

Example configuration:

- type: dropdown
  attributes:
    label: "Operating System"
    description: |-
      What Operating System do you use?
      Make sure to also include the version in the text field below.
    multiple: false
    with_other: true # The new option which would add an "Other" option
    options:
      - "Windows"
      - "Mac"
      - "Linux"

Assuming the user would now select "Other" and input "Ubuntu" in the appearing field, would it look like this in the final issue

Operating System

Other: Ubuntu

---

Perhaps to further customize the option could the dropdown's "options" section support a way to include a text field depending on the option?

F.e.

- type: dropdown
  attributes:
    label: "Operating System"
    description: |-
      What Operating System do you use?
      Make sure to also include the version in the text field below.
    multiple: false
    options:
      - label: "Windows"
        fields:
        - placeholder: "Version"
      - label: "Mac"
        fields:
        - placeholder: "Version"
      - label: "Linux"
        fields:
        - placeholder: "Distribution"
        - placeholder: "Version"
      - label: "Other"
        fields:
        - placeholder: "Operating System"

This would add a text field for the version whenever you select the OS, and also adds an additional field for the distribution when Linux was selected.
A mix of both (with and without this fields option) should be supported so that you can fine-tune when a field should be displayed and required to fill out.

I can understand that this will put a lot of complicated work on making it doable and I don't expect this to be worked on in the near future or even at all.

[lukehefson]

Thanks for all this detailed feedback @Andre601. Knowing your use-case and seeing your suggestion(s) is very helpful! ❤️

[AlCalzone]

I second this. We have several checkboxes/dropdowns where we require additional info when certain choices are made:
https://github.com/zwave-js/node-zwave-js/issues/new?assignees=&labels=&template=bug_report.yml -> for example "How are you using node-zwave-js?"

[virtualvoyager367]

here is what ChatGPT said, just change the ID

name: Bug report
description: Use this template to report a bug.
title: "[BUG] "
labels: ["bug"]
body:

• type: dropdown
  id: issue_type
  attributes:
  label: "Type of Issue"
  description: "Select the type of issue you are reporting."
  options:
  - "UI Bug"
  - "Performance Issue"
  - "Security Vulnerability"
  - "Other"

• type: input
  id: other_issue
  attributes:
  label: "Describe the other issue"
  description: "Please describe the issue you are experiencing."
  placeholder: "Describe your issue here"
  render: false
  depends_on:
  - id: issue_type
  value: "Other"

• type: textarea
  id: steps_to_reproduce
  attributes:
  label: "Steps to Reproduce"
  description: "Provide the steps to reproduce the issue."
  placeholder: "1. Step one\n2. Step two\n3. Step three"

[ghostinhershell]

Hi @virtualvoyager367,

We’ve clarified our stance on using generative AI tools like ChatGPT within our Community via this announcement. Please review the guidelines to ensure your post meets them as failure to adhere to those rules can result in action taken by our moderator team.  You can read our updated Code of Conduct and the announcement for more details. Thank you for helping us maintain an authentic and beneficial space for everyone.

[Andre601]

Uh, excuse me?
I did not use any AI tools in any of my replies, comments and posts, as I am in fact a hater of AI.

I really hope you simply tagged the wrong user here, because if not, then I would appreciate you not accusing me of using AI without proper proof, thank you very much.

[AlCalzone]

I guess @ghostinhershell meant to tag @virtualvoyager367 instead?

[ghostinhershell]

Hey there @Andre601,

This was a mistake on my part, the message was directed at @virtualvoyager367. I've corrected that on my end.

Sorry for the misunderstanding here and thanks so much for contributing to our community!

[virtualvoyager367]

yea, I don't know if the code works, I was just looking for solutions

[RSS1102]

I also want to determine whether other items should be required based on the question selected by the dropdown.

From the requirement to declare id in yaml, can I capture the context variable?