Video: Click here to see a video discussion of data selection, which includes coverage of the Display Wizard’s Columns Page, Columns Definition Page, Sites Page, and Lists Page. This video and many others are also available through the Platform Learning Center in the CorasWorks Community. If you do not have access to the Community, go to http://community.corasworks.net and click on the Register link at the top of the page.
The Columns page is used to select the columns to include or reference in the Grid Display. You can change the header displayed for each column and the order of the columns on the next page.
1. The first step on this page is to choose a model list. This list is used simply as an example so you can select the columns you want to work within the display; it does not necessarily have to be included in the display. The lists or libraries to be included in the display are identified on the Lists page.
•Select either Current Site or Specify Site to identify where the list you want to use as the model list is located.
o Current Site is the default.
o If you choose Specify Site, you can type a URL at the prompt, type a Global Link/Variable, or click the Browse button to choose from a drop-down list of all sites in the current site collection. You can identify any site, including one on a different site or server.
2. Select the desired model list from the List or library drop-down. The lower half of the page is updated.
3. If you want to be able to reference hidden SharePoint columns (e.g., URL Path, Workflow Version, Approval Status) in the display, select the Show hidden SharePoint columns checkbox. When this option is selected, the hidden columns are added to the Available Columns section below.
4. If you want to be able to reference the site, list, and/or folder name as a column, select Allow site/list/folder name to be referenced as columns. When this option is selected, the site name, list name, and folder name are added to the end of the Available Columns section.
5. If you want to include only those lists that have the same list type as the model list, select the third checkbox, Only display items that match model list type. This is left blank by default. When the checkbox is left blank, the display will include all lists of all types that contain the columns you select.
6. In the Available Columns area, highlight each of the columns you want to reference in the display and click the arrow icon.
•The columns you select here should include both the columns you want to display and those you want to use for filtering, searching, sorting, or grouping. Only the columns you choose here will be available on the remaining Display Wizard pages for reference in filtering, searching, sorting, and grouping.
•The columns you select here will be used to determine the available lists for selection on the Lists page. If a list or library does not contain the columns you identify here, that list or library will not be included in the Grid Display.
•If you change your mind and decide that you do not want to reference a column, highlight it in the Selected Columns area and click the left arrow on the page. The column is returned to the Available Columns box.
•The order in which columns are selected here does not matter. The order of the columns is determined on the next page of the Display Wizard.
7. When you are ready to move on to the next page, click the Next button or select Column Definition from the left-hand navigation area.
TIP: For optimum performance, try to limit the number of columns selected on this page.
•Data Displays do not support more than 20 columns of data, including search columns. For best and most relaible performance, limit the component to 10 or fewer columns.
•As more columns are added to a Data Display, the load time and search process will become slower.
•From a visibility and usability perspective, you may want to try to limit the number of visible columns to 6 or 7.