Editing Default (computer science) (section)

==In application software==
Using a default involves two goals which sometimes conflict:

*'''Minimal user interaction should be required.''' Setting defaults to the most commonly selected options serves this purpose.
*'''Panel entry errors should be minimized.''' Using defaults will tend to increase errors, as users may leave incorrect default settings selected. In cases where the value can be verified, this is not a severe problem. For example, the delivery country can be checked against the street address or postal codes and any mismatch can generate an error panel displayed to the user, who will then presumably make the correction.

In cases where there is no clear majority and the results cannot easily be verified by other available information, such as the gender of the individual, no default should be offered. Some software applications, however, require that default values be supplied.

A 1982 [[Apple Computer]] manual for developers warned: "Please do not ever use the word default in a program designed for humans. Default is [[default (finance)|something the mortgage went into]] right before the evil banker stole the Widow Parson's house. There is an exhaustive list of substitutes (previous, automatic, standard, etc.)".<ref name="apple1982">{{cite book | url=http://www.apple2scans.net/files/1982-A2F2116-m-a2e-aiiedg.pdf | title=Apple IIe Design Guidelines | publisher=Apple Computer | author1=Meyers, Joe | author2=Tognazzini, Bruce | year=1982 | pages=37 | access-date=2014-03-11 | archive-date=2015-09-23 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923172720/http://www.apple2scans.net/files/1982-A2F2116-m-a2e-aiiedg.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref>