I'm building an internal app for a company.

Ideally the user should be trained to use the app (eventually), but it would be better to make it understandable without the need of a specific training.

The context
The app shows a table with a list of settlement results. The users don't have any additional details about these settlements. The only way they can see more details is by downloading the Settlement Report file.

The problem
Each settlement (hence each row in the table) has its own report. These reports can be downloaded in pdf or in csv format. The user should be able to chose what file format to download.
In addition to that, each settlement (again, hence each row in the table) has its own Tax Invoice report that can be downloaded, only in pdf format.
These two files don't necessarily get downloaded together all the time.

How can I make the distinction of action and intent clear and straight forward so that the users can easily download the files they need?

Feel free to ask any further question :)

  • Do you maybe have a screenshot/mockup of what you have at the moment? – Jaco Briers Apr 15 at 8:03

Be explicit with actions, and use clear labels.

It sounds like surfacing actions clearly is the main issue. You can use a 'Download' link dropdown at the end of the grid. And have the menu be clear in the formats and types of downloads available.

Since you have 2 types of downloads, and two format choices for the first option, just display it clearly:

enter image description here

  • In the end I found the solution to be very similar to this one proposed. Thanks a lot for your time. :) – Adriano Apr 18 at 4:14
  1. add a column for each row to have a dropdown button for downloading. The default value of the dropdown be called 'download' but when selected the 2 options slid open for PDF or CSV file formats. The download the Tax Invoice Report can also be an additional column in the table but just make it the same style button without the dropdown functionality.
  2. add the two buttons as described above (one dropdown for file format and one that is just a 'download tax invoice') but just add these two buttons at the top of the table and make them inactive. Add a new column in the table for each row that contains a CHECKBOX. By selecting one or many CHECKBOXES, then the two DOWNLOAD buttons can be activated.

enter image description hereTwo options for your table design:

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