Using Form View with Large Data Sets

When working with large data sets, Vizlib Writeback Table offers a Form View to help keep your table scalable and readable. Using the Form View option can make reviewing and editing table data faster by displaying the row details in a form.

Enabling the Form View allows you to:

  • Create a form with a row height that's more compact.

  • Use the feature Show column if to make reviewing and editing the table data easier.

  • View row details in a form that makes reviewing and editing the table data faster.

And you can still drill down into a row to display all the columns and edit data if needed.

This topic contains the following sections:

Setting up the Form View

  1. Click Edit sheet.

  2. Select the Writeback Table object to view its property panel.

  3. Click to open the Column Settings menu, and use the slider to enable the Form View (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Enable Form View

Using the Form View Wizard

  1. Click on Form View Wizard to open the wizard screen for editing (Figure 3). The columns on the right are used in the Form View; the other available Columns from the table are listed on the left.

  2. Select an option from the Add Column drop-down to add new columns.

  3. You can drag existing columns from the Columns list on the left and drop them into the editor on the right.

  4. Change the column order by dragging and dropping them where you want them. Holding down the CTRL button lets you select multiple items and simultaneously apply some settings from the top bar to multiple elements. However, you can't drag multiple items using the CTRL button.

Figure 2: Adding columns using the Form View wizard

The buttons on the top right of the Form View wizard help you add items quickly and organize them in the form.

Adding a Column

Select a Data Type from the top toolbar and enter a column name using the text box. From the drop-down list, you can:

  • Choose column text Size and Color.

  • Enable a Break after the column.

  • Use Show to display the column only if a condition is met.

  • Add a Tooltip.

Note: Use the Add Column button in the Columns section of the property panel to add columns without using the Wizard steps.

Adding a Page

You can add pages to separate multiple fields and create a step-by-step experience in the form. You can also logically connect multiple fields into an expandable/collapsible container.

Once you've added the page, you can add items using the controls or drag and drop them onto the page. You can disable the Next navigation button in the form if validation fails.

The example form (Figure 6) has two pages - Sales Period and Sales Breakdown.

Adding a Group

You can add items to the group using drag and drop, and you can:

  • Change the text Color.

  • Use the Show Group If function to display the group only if a condition is met.

  • Add a Tooltip.

Adding a Caption

You can enter caption text in the text area, and you can:

  • Choose a Header or Paragraph format.

  • Apply Bold, Italic, or Underline formatting, set the text Color, and use the Show Text If function to display the caption only if a condition is met.

Adding a Divider

Click to add the divider, and drag and drop it into place. You can also set the divider Color and use the Show Divider If function to display the group only if a condition is met.

Deleting an Item

When you delete an item from the right, it only removes the column from the Form View.

If you want to remove a column from the table permanently, remove it from the left.

  1. To remove an item, hover your cursor on it.

  2. Click the Delete icon.

Saving Your Changes

  1. Click Save when you've finished making changes.

  2. The edit icon displays beside each row.

Checking Form View Layout

Click the Done Editing button to:

  • Drill down on a row.

  • Verify your Form View looks as intended.

  • Check the fields you want are editable.

Figure 3: Editing a Writeback Table in Form View

Hiding All Columns in a Table

If you click Hide all columns in the table, the table displays as empty. You can display individual columns again by editing the Show column if setting in the property panel (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Show Column If

Hiding Columns

To hide a column, select the columns you want to hide and amend the Show column if from an empty field (Figure 4) to 0 (zero) to hide them.

Hiding Specific Columns Using a Value Filter

An example of the text you'd need to enter is:

Column('Type')='Other'

This means the column is only displayed if the value Other is entered in the Type column.

Hiding Groups Inside the Form View Table

The Show column if property determines whether or not a column is visible inside a table. To manage column visibility in the Form View, a column has to be placed inside a group and the property Show group if is applied.

  1. Open the wizard and add a Group in the form (Figure 6).

  2. Select the fields to add to the group. We're adding Year and YearMonth in this example.

  3. Enter a name for the group in the text box, then click on Show Group If.

  4. In the expression editor, add the code to define the fields to be hidden. This example uses an expression that means Year and YearMonth are only displayed for columns with the Product Group Desc value Beer. The column syntax is:

    Column('Product Group Desc')='Beer'

  5. Click Apply to save the changes. The expression symbol is highlighted to show a condition has been added.

  6. Click Done Editing to enter analysis mode.

Note: There are more examples of working with expressions using column syntax inReferencing Column/Field values in Expressions.

Figure 5: Hiding groups

  1. Select a row where Beer is listed in Product Group Desc values, then select Edit for a row. You should see the Year and YearMonth fields in the edit panel (Figure 6).

  2. Open a row using Edit with Wine as a Product Group Desc value (i.e. not Beer). There should be no Year or YearMonth fields displayed.

Figure 6: Display Hidden Fields

Custom Styling - Adjusting Column Width

Column Width - Table View

This style setting applies to how a column displays inside a table view.

  1. From the Column properties section, select the Custom Styling section.

  2. Slide the toggle to enable Adjust column width and set the Column width to the pixel width you prefer. You can also adjust text alignment and whether to show or hide the Input container (cell).

  3. Click the Edit button to display the Form view.

Column Width - Form View

Adjust the field column width in the Form View using the options in the Form View Wizard or the Custom Styling section, as described below:

  1. From the Column properties section, select the Custom Styling section.

  2. Scroll down to the field Input Size.

  3. Select from the list of size options (e.g. X-small is 10% of the width). If you select Auto the column width matches the width of the form.

All the details of your row are laid out in an easy-to-view manner, so you can easily edit the entire row - even if it's part of a large data set.