Harvest, the time tracking and invoicing tool we use, just added a new filter mechanism to their report generator. While I appreciate the additional functionality, I was most impressed with their multi-select combobox. It looks like a normal text field, but once the field has focus you can select any option and it will be added into the field, click again and you can select another option, building up any number of options. The field just gets larger (more rows are added) when you add more options than can be displayed in a single row.

It is equally easy to remove items from the field by clicking the little ‘x’ next to each option.

Does anyone know if there is a JQuery control for this? That would be awesome. A Flex control like this would be nice too, just in case there are any motivated developers reading this (wink, wink)…

On Tues, Feb. 3rd I will be presenting a short talk on Designing Web Interfaces as a webcast for O’Reilly. This talk is free and space is limited (and filling up fast), so if you are interested sign up now.

And a reminder on a completely different (brand new) talk I will be giving on Feb. 26th: Bringing Design to Life: What Every Designer Should Know about Interface Engineering. This talk comes out of my longtime experience bouncing between the design & engineering worlds and in particular lessons learned at Yahoo! and Netflix. This 60-minute webinar is initially available as a live class, and then is made available in a DRM-free recorded, edited format. By avoiding the travel required in attending a physical seminar or conference, you save money and reduce your impact on the environment. You are free to watch the webinar with colleagues in a conference room, making for an even better value. The cost is only $129.

Details here:

• O’Reilly Webcast – Designing Web Interfaces: Principles and Patterns for Rich Interaction. Feb. 3rd (18:00 GMT / 1pm EST / 10am PST)
• Rosenfeld Media Webinar – Bringing Design to Life: What Every Designer Should Know about Interface Engineering. Feb. 26th (18:00 GMT / 1pm EST / 10am PST)