A graphical input device, preferably in a browser-based display, resembles a pull-down menu, with a displayed
data entry field. The set of possible entries to be displayed along with the graphical
input device varies depending on the user. The minimum display width needed for full-width display of the entries is evaluated by scripting and the actual display of the set is generated accordingly. The drop-down
list and its listed entries may be wider than the
data entry field. The user can thus view and select customized possible entries that cannot fit within the displayed
data entry field. According to another aspect of the preferred embodiment of the invention, when the user is making selections from the drop-down
list, multiple keyboard entries can be used to cause rapid
scrolling to entries that match not only the first character entered, but also to entries whose first n characters match n characters entered while viewing the
list. For hierarchically structured and itemized entry lists, matching is preferably performed first to the right of at least one
delimiter. The various novel aspects of the invention are implemented using scripting embedded within
HTML code so that they are available to users who are browsing
web content.