Long check list ui pattern for web

Question

I have a data entry page where the user is required so make some selections from a list. Currently it is just a check list with about 10 items they can tick, but is will expand soon to about 230. What is a good UI paradigm for dealing with a large number of selectable items? I am considering dual list type control.

Answer 1

Dual list, BUT, for a large # of non-groupable elements:

• MUST have ability to select multiple elements (Duh!)
• SHOULD have ability to select ALL elements with a click
• SHOULD have ability to search (in either list), and select all matching elements

Also, if the lists are REALLY big (1k+), you may run into trouble with slow rendering. If so, you can also "paginate" the list - e.g. display only first N elements, allow selection from those, and then ability to shift the "frame" to next N elements.

(all the above, BTW, are real attributes of a solution we implemented in an enterprise web app needing a selection list with 30k possible values which could not be grouped).