View and Panel Designer in QPR UI

A QPR UI view is the topmost area consisting of panels that have presentation objects inside them. The location and size of the panels within the view can be edited.

View and Panel Settings

• Properties
  • Version: As a read-only information, the version of the view/panel. For panels, it also shows whether the view is linked to the latest version of the panel. For example, if a view is linked to the latest version of a panel, and the current latest version is 1, when a new version of that panel is created, the view shows the version 2.
  • Name: Name of the view/panel/repeater. Note that it's not possible to use tags in view and repeater names. Tags can be used in panel names. View name is visible in workspaces screens and view header. Panel name is visible in panel header (if it's set visible). Maximum length for the name field is 100 characters.
  • Identifier: Identifier of the view/panel. The identifier should be a unique text that distinguishes the view/panel in the folder where the view/panel is located. Identifiers are case sensitive, must not contain "/" characters, and the maximum length is 2048 characters. For view identifiers, it's possible to use the identifier to link to a view from other views by using the sys:dashboardIdentifier variable. For panel identifiers, the identifier is visible in the Select panel to be added to view dialog for better identification.
  • Description: Description of the view/panel/repeater. The description is not visible for the dashboard viewers, but it can be used e.g. to include documentation for the dashboard designer users.
• Datasets
• Presentation
• Context

View and Panel Scaling in Different Screen Sizes

Views and panels have the following scaling options:

• In the fixed height mode all panels have fixed height in pixels, and the height of panels doesn't change between different screen sizes. The fixed height mode is switched on by defining view or panel Aspect ratio flex to 1 (more information about Aspect Ratio Flex).
• In the relative height mode, all panels height adjust to the available screen height in a way that the content always takes the entire screen height so the screen is never scrollable nor there is empty space in the bottom of the screen. The relative height mode is switched on by defining view or panel Aspect Ratio Flex to a high enough number, such as 100.
• There is also a hybrid mode, where panels' height adjust to some degree to the available space, but there is a certain adjustable limit for panels' height. The hybrid mode is used when the Aspect ratio flex is set to greater than 1 but not too big number. For example 1.2 - 2.0 might be suitable.

View and panel width is always determined by the relative height principle. The views and panels are never scrollable horizontally, but the content always takes the whole available space.

View Versions

Views can have different versions (having different contents). When a view has multiple versions, the version that is open in the View Designer can be changed by clicking the name of the view in the main top toolbar, and selecting the version from the shown alternatives.

Panel Versions

Panels can have different versions (having different contents) and views can be set to use either the latest version of a panel or a specific version of a panel. The recommended setting is for the views to use is the latest version of the panel. This way, changes done to the latest version of the panel will be reflected in all the views that use the panel. Moreover, panel locking and publishing is less of hassle, and if a new version of the panel is made, you don't need to manually update every view to use the new version.

Adding a Panel

To add a panel to the view, click either the Add a new panel or Add existing panel to view button on the left toolbar. The Add a new panel selection will add a panel to the view and the added panel will be using the latest version of the panel. With the Add existing panel to view, you can select a specific version of the panel to be added to the view.

Viewing and Editor Modes of Views and Panels

In QPR UI, a view may be seen in two modes: viewing mode and editor mode. When in editor mode, the panels and presentation objects can only be moved and resized. Interacting with presentation objects (e.g. clicking buttons) is possible when the viewing mode is used. In addition, a view can be either in locked or unlocked state.

• Viewing mode is in use when:
  • Administrators group has been configured to QPR UI and a viewer role user opens the view, because user doesn't have permissions to edit the view.
  • The opened view is locked, because locked views cannot be edited.
  • The opened view is unlocked, but the view has been toggled into viewing mode by clicking the Edit button on the main toolbar:
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• Editor mode is in use when:
  • Administrators group has been configured to QPR UI and an administrator role user opens an unlocked view that is also been set into editor mode by clicking the Edit button on the main toolbar:
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  • Administrators group has not been configured (i.e. all users are administrators), and the opened view is unlocked and the view been toggled into editor mode by clicking the Edit button on the main toolbar.

The Edit button is available also in unlocked panels for toggling the viewing/editor mode in the panel editor.

Defining View Properties and Variables

To define context variables, type in the name of the variable to the text field and click the check mark. After that, you can click the value field and type in the value for your context variable. Context variables starting with "sys:" are system variables which have special purpose in QPR UI - use them only for their intended purpose. The Behavior selection affects the context variable used explained in Context Variable Behaviors. To see what context variable values are used in the view, panel, or presentation object, select the Show effective context check box in the Context tab of the view, panel, or presentation object properties pages.

Variables Usage Example

There is a view with one panel, in which there is one presentation object. The Session variable values are defined as follows:

Variable name	Value
AccountManager	John Smith
Country	Sweden

In the View Properties, the following variable values are defined:

Variable name	Value	Behavior
AccountManager	William Taylor	Stored variable
CustomerGroup	Kids	Local variable

In the Panel Properties, the following variable values are defined:

Variable name	Value	Behavior
AccountManager	Susan Chapman	Local variable
Country	Finland	Local variable

In the Presentation Object Properties, the following variable values are defined:

Variable name	Value	Behavior
ProductGroup	Umbrellas	Stored variable

In the Effective View Context, these result into the values shown below. Note the Source column displaying the information where the effective context comes from:

Variable name	Value	Source	Scope
AccountManager	William Taylor	Scope of the view	View
Country	Sweden	Inherited from session context	Session
CustomerGroup	Kids	Scope of the view	View

In the Effective Panel Context, these result into the values shown below. Note the Source column displaying the information where the effective context comes from:

Variable name	Value	Source	Scope
AccountManager	Susan Chapman	Initialized from the panel's context	Panel
Country	Finland	Initialized from the panel's context	Panel
CustomerGroup	Kids	Inherited from the effective context of the view	View

In the Effective Presentation Object Context, these result into the values shown below. Note the Source column displaying the information where the effective context comes from:

Variable name	Value	Source	Scope
AccountManager	Susan Chapman	Inherited from the effective context of the panel	Panel
Country	Finland	Inherited from the effective context of the panel	Panel
ProductGroup	Umbrellas	Scope of the presentation object	Presentation object
CustomerGroup	Kids	Inherited from the effective context of the view	View

To put it more concisely, the context variable values (and their behaviors) are as follows:

Context Variable	Session	View	Panel	Presentation Object
AccountManager	John Smith	William Taylor (Stored variable)	Susan Chapman (Local variable)
Country	Sweden		Finland (Local variable)
ProductGroup				Umbrellas (Stored variable)
CustomerGroup		Kids (Local variable)

The effective context values are:

Context Variable	Session	View	Panel	Presentation Object
AccountManager	John Smith	William Taylor	Susan Chapman	Susan Chapman
Country	Sweden	Sweden	Finland	Finland
ProductGroup				Umbrellas
CustomerGroup		Kids	Kids	Kids

Example: Adding Panel and Defining Properties and Context

1. Add a new Panel to the view by clicking the Add New Panel button in the side toolbar.
   
2. Click the panel to select it and then click the Properties button on the panel.
   
3. In the Panel Properties, you can define the Name, Identifier, and Description on the Properties tab.
   
   
   In addition to normal text, you can use Variable and Expression tags in the panel name to enable the name to change dynamically or construct the name using an expression. For example, you could define the panel name to be Selected scorecard: <#sys:metricsScorecard>.
4. Switch to the Presentation tab. On the Presentation tab, change the Background color. Set also the Inner margin to be "5", this setting will make the presentation objects be closer to each other than with the default setting. You can also adjust the other presentation settings, see the Panel Properties page for their descriptions.
   
   
   You can also define panel specific context variable values on the Context tab. Apply the changes and close the panel properties by clicking Close.