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almost 6 years ago from Matthias Gansrigler, Indie Mac- and iOS developer at Eternal Storms Software
I was about to say pretty much the same thing. When the user expects a pre-defined set of options then a disabled item can be helpful to show that ordinarily that option would be available but a specific condition prevents it being selected.
My example is that we have an web app that allows a user to apply to live in a number of different accommodation sites. There's a good chance that they know what sites exist - but some of them will be unavailable because they are ineligible. In that case we show a disabled checkbox with a tooltip to explain why it's unavailable.
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In certain instances, I feel inactive checkboxes (or radio buttons) can in fact be useful...
At the moment I am working on a project where users can purchase tickets to an event.
On the 'Select date and time' screen we've decided to show the option where the time/s that an event might not be available i.e. '8.30pm session - sold out'
We feel it's important to show this option as it alerts the user that the 8.30pm session might in fact be available on another date.
A slightly different scenario than the example given by the OP but nevertheless an example where displaying unavailable option could in fact be helpful to the user.