View and Panel Designer in QPR UI
A QPR MobileDashboard view is a rectangular area consisting of panels that hold inside them presentation objects that show the actual content. Panels can be reused, i.e. it is possible to add panels that you have in your Private Workspace or that have been published to the Public Workspace. The location and size of the panel(s) within the view can be adjusted.
View scaling
Views have the following scaling modes:
- 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 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 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.
Panel's width is always determined by the relative height principle. The views are never scrollable horizontally, but the content always takes the whole available space.
Properties tab
- Name: Name of the view.
- Identifier: The identifier of the view. The identifier should be some unique text that distinguishes the view in the QPR MobileDashboard environment. The identifier is case-sensitive, it should not contain / characters, and the maximum length is 2048 characters. It's possible to use the identifier to link to the latest version of the view from other views by using the sys:dashboardIdentifier context variable.
- Description: Description of the view.
Presentation tab
The View's Presentation tab contains following settings:
- Aspect ratio flex: Decimal number determining how much the view content's aspect ratio (width divided by height) is allowed to vary. Note that this setting doesn't affect the aspect ratio of the view itself, but only its contents, i.e. panels.
- The view has a design aspect ratio which is determined by how panels are arranged in the view designer. Note that the whole available design area doesn't matter - only the actual panels determine the shown area and the design aspect ratio.
- Aspect ratio calculation rule: If design aspect ratio is A and aspect ratio flex is B, the view's aspect ratio is allowed to change between A/B and A*B. Example: If design aspect ratio is 2 and aspect ratio flex is 4, the view's aspect ratio is allowed to vary between 0.5 and 8 (2/4=0.5 and 2*4=8).
- View contents always take all available space horizontally. If the aspect ratio's lower limit is reached (i.e. view contents are not allowed use all available space vertically), there may be empty space in the bottom of the view. If the aspect ratio's higher limit is reached (i.e. view contents don't fit vertically), the view has a vertical scrollbar.
- The aspect ratio flex is useful e.g. for views which don't work properly if the aspect ratio stretches to too extreme.
- Inner margin: Horizontal and vertical space between the panels in the view. Defined in pixels.
- Outer margin: Space between the panels and the view outer border. Defined in pixels.
- Background color: Background color of the view. Panels inside the view may have other background colors than the view. It's possible to set transparent background by defining "transparent" in the color selector input box.
- SVG background: The SVG image to use as the view background. The SVG image will be rendered on top of the defined view Background color. The SVG image is defined in the same way as with SVG Presentation Objects, except that the SVG image used as the view background cannot contain actions.
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 |