required fields gets the user stuck

yeah, this is the desired behaviour.
If the user has pressed the "add address" button, he has shown that he wants to add an adress. So he has to do so. This also saves users from pressing the wrong button and loosing all the data, they have filled on the last form, as this form doesn't get submitted.

There is only one case where it behaves different. If there is no address and the page is configured to show an add form in this case. Then filling out the form is optional (does the user want to add an address?) and so every other button doesn't submit the add form - however this might be lead inattentive users to filling out the add form and clicking the wrong button, so that their data is lost. This danger should be kept in mind, if one uses this feature.

Hey Fago,

I agree with jbhan, ideally there should be a way for a user to cancel out or back up if they have accidentally pressed the "add address" button, without losing the previous address info that they have already put in. We all have users that will occasionally make this mistake, and it seems the most user-friendly method would be to provide the ability to get out of the situation smoothly. I know that I would be annoyed if it happened to me, and I had to enter in info, only to have to go and delete it afterward.

I'm just barely beginning to wrap my mind around the incredible pageroute/nodeprofile/usernode/nodefamily family of modules. Is it even possible to accomplish this?

And, thank you so much for these amazing modules. You have made so many things possible.

peace,
blue

yeah, you are right. this would be a really nice feature.

Unfortunately I've currently not the time for looking at it. In the meanwhile I set this to postponed.

The problem is rather simple: Back is a button that POSTs.
People don't expect Back to insert the data into the database, yet it does, and it causes the validation errors.

Can we nog use something else then a POSTing button? E.g. a back link?

Oh, and before people start discussing Cancel buttons as solution, please read this excellent post for background info: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000416.html.
IMO the back button makes the mistkes lined out in Nielsens post.

This patch hacks a link in there instead of the button. Its a starter.

This path only solves the 'back' issue, and not some cancel feature.

As I see it (ande IMO most end-users) we have
* go a page back
* go a page forward
* insert the current filled in data
* don't inser the current filled in data.

What we see now is that buttons combine these features. We have:
* Insert the data -- and proceed to the next form (shown as 'forward')
* Insert the data -- and go back to the previous form (shown as 'back')

The first combined action may make sense, the second does not.

My patch rips the 'insert the data' -- 'and go back' apart and only shows the user the 'and go back' part.

Bu IMO, we should find a way to cover all four actions, and to not hardwire them into two buttons.

hm, yep I agree with you that on pages where a node creation form is shown, the back button is a bit misleading. It shouldn't save there.

But I think that "* Insert the data -- and go back to the previous form (shown as 'back')" does make sense too, so that a user can also update a profile page and go a page back.

So I think best it would be to introduce a new cancel link or something on all "adding" forms. I'll have a look at this.

I've just added the option to add a "Cancel" link to each page to pageroute 5.x.
This link enables the user to cancel filling out the form and so to step forward without submitting the form.
-> fixed for 5.x-dev.