My target audience are users that are not familiar so much with computers so i try to simplify the UI elements in use as much as possible.
For instance I try to avoid drop down menus and use big radio buttons instead (when possible).
Now I have to provide a multiple select option list. I could use check boxes but there are just too many properties. It seems that there is no simple component to allow such an action.
Here are several options:
Regular Multiple select element
Custom made scrollable box with chekboxes
Multiple select drop-down with checkboxes
None of them seem simple enough for me. The 1st one is the worst I believe as it asks the user to press ctrl to multi-select. Are there any other options you have in mind? Is there any research on the subject ?
Answer
Go with check boxes for multi-select inputs. It is a norm in implementation since the first GUIs and it a standard practice in UX too. Nielsen's article confirming the use of check boxes: http://www.nngroup.com/articles/checkboxes-vs-radio-buttons/
Checkboxes are used when there are lists of options and the user may select any number of choices, including zero, one, or several. In other words, each checkbox is independent of all other checkboxes in the list, so checking one box doesn't uncheck the others.
And as for your question regarding how to implement in a good way.
Use subheads to break up a long list of checkboxes into logical groups. This makes the choices faster to scan and easier to understand. The risk is that users might view each subgroup as a separate set of options, but this is not necessarily fatal for checkboxes — each box is an independent choice anyway. A list of radio buttons, however, must always appear unified, so you cannot use subheads to break it up.
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