Tables

The "Table" view type is the standard visualization method of application data, displaying each result of a data query as a row in a table, with each desired attribute of that query result appearing as a column entry of that table. Table views can assume the following report designations: "Report Page", "Dashboard Widget", "Form Lookup", "Export File", "Suggestions Box", and "API". The appearance and functionality of table views of each designation is discussed below.

Report Page Table

As is the case with all view types (except trends), a Table view brings its maximum functionality to bear when viewed as a Report Page. All links and commands are enabled for a report page table, unlike for tables of all other designations, as there is no risk of recursively opening panels within panels. As a result, report page tables can link to sub-reports, embedded forms, popups, and link to external URLs. A report page table contains all entries returned by the data query, but the page divides these results into a number of different pages so as to load and display only a manageable amount at any given time. The pagination bar at the bottom of the table allows a user to control how many results he or she would like to see at one time; the default page size is 10, but a user can also choose a value of 25, 50, or 100. This bar also allows the user to tab between the different pages of results, either by clicking the number of the desired page, the "Page Left" or "Page Right" buttons, the "First Page" or "Last Page" buttons, or by clicking on the number of a current page, which brings up a text box where the user can input the number of the desired page.

The headers of each column provide additional functionality to the report page table. By default, all the columns of a table appear in the order in which they are defined in the data query, and the rows are sorted in descending order of their values for the first column. All of these settings are configurable at runtime, however. By clicking on the name of a column, the user can sort the query results by that column, or reverse the sorting order if that column is already used to sort the results (since the user can dynamically change the sort order of the query results, the "Order By" and "Order Direction" attributes of the view are ignored for report page tables). The user can click and hold on the box in the left of a column header, and drag a column into a different position in the table. Lastly, when a user hovers over a column header, an "X" appears in the right of the header, which he or she can click to hide the column. If any changes are made, the page replaces the text at the top of the table with a link reading "Show all columns and restore the order", which reverts the table to its default settings. Below the pagination bar, the page shows the total number of records within the table.

Report page tables are unique in that they allow users to export their contents to a CSVor a PDF file. On the left filter of the page, below the report criteria, lies the "Export Data" button, which brings up the following panel.

On this panel, you can specify the name and file format (between CSV or PDF) of the file to which you wish to export the query results. You can select specifically which columns the system will include in the file by checking the boxes in the Report Columns section. In the Options section, the "Current Page Only" flag instructs the system to only include those results currently displayed on the page, and the "Include Column Headers" flag instructs the system to include the names of each column as the first row in the file, as opposed to the data alone.

Dashboard Widget Table

The dashboard provides a quick, convenient look at a table on a dashboard, at the cost of some of this functionality. All column decorations remain active, such as icons and bars, as shown in the screenshot below. Users cannot change the sort order of the table rows, however, nor can they change the order of the columns or hide any of them. Additionally, dashboard widget tables only show the first seven rows of a table, but admin users can use hidden criteria and the ordering attributes of the view to help control which query results appear on the widget. Dashboard widget tables often act as previews for greater sets of data, as users can click on the title of the widget to access the report page views of the data query.

Form Lookup

The Embedded Forms section discusses how forms can be inserted into reports, and how the fields of those forms can be automatically populated by report data. The opposite is also possible, however: embedding reports into forms, specifically table views with the Form Lookup designation.

A form section that enables lookup using a report table will have a magnifying glass button appear next to its name, as shown in the following screenshot. If a user clicks on this button, a modal window will open containing a table view.

A user can select a query result to use to populate the fields of the form by clicking the desired button in the leftmost column of the table, which will trigger the modal window to close and the system to populate the form fields. Form lookup tables contain much of the functionality of a report page table, as the abilities to view all query results, sort them, and filter out unwanted options are crucial in finding the right table row. All links and commands for the view are disabled, however, and there is no button for exporting data. The button in the leftmost column of each row allows the user to select the desired row to populate the form.

Export File

The Export File designation allows a table view to be used in a Generate Report action, which can run a data query, generate a CSV or PDF file from a table view, and either save it in the Documents Library or include it in an email notification.

Suggestions Box

The Suggestions Box designation allows a table view to expose its columns for use in auto-completing report criteria with the input type "Suggestions Box."