AX1323

Configuring view display on the Change View menu

There are several options to configure the display of views on the Change View menu:

  • You can choose whether or not the views are organized by type using headers for Sheet Views, Column Views, and Row Views.
  • For column and row views only:
    • You can choose whether or not the individual view names display directly on the menu, or whether they are grouped together as part of a group name.
    • If the view names are grouped, you can specify single-selection or multiple-selection of views. On the menu, the impact of this choice determines whether clicking the group name opens a dialog where the user can select multiple views, or whether the view names display as sub-menu items and only a single view can be selected.

This section explains how these options impact the view display on the Change View menu of the default Axiom ribbon tab. Keep in mind that it is possible to use the Change View command in any custom ribbon tab or task pane and specify different behavior. For example, you can create a button on a ribbon or an item on a task pane that directly activates a particular view (versus showing a menu of all views).

Disabling headings on the menu

By default, the defined views for a sheet display on the Change View menu organized by view type. The menu uses headings for Sheet Views, Column Views, and Row Views. If the sheet does not have any views of a certain type, then the heading for that type does not display on the menu.

Example Change View menu with all three view types

If desired, you can disable these headings on a per sheet basis. To do so, change the setting Show View Headers in Menu to Off. This setting is located in the Sheet Options > Views section of the Control Sheet.

NOTE: When using the Change View command in the task pane to display the view menu, the list of views never has headings, regardless of this setting.

Generally speaking, headers should only be turned off if the sheet only contains one type of view. If the sheet contains multiple types of views, the behavior of the menu may be confusing to end users (when each item on the menu does different things, yet there is no indication that the items are different).

Column view and row view behavior on the menu

The behavior of column views and row views on the Change View menu depends on the following factors:

  • Whether a group name is defined on the ColumnView tag or RowView tag
  • Whether the tag is configured for single-selection

The following examples show some different configurations of ColumnView tags and how they behave on the Change View menu. The same behavior applies to RowView tags.

Example 1

In this example, a group name is defined on the ColumnView tag. The default behavior of multiple-selection applies.

Because a group name is defined, the view names defined in the individual column tags belong to this group name. On the Change View menu, only the group name is displayed:

When a user clicks on the group name, a selection dialog opens so that the user can choose which column views to make active or inactive. The user can also select or clear all the column views.

This approach works well with virtually all menu configurations. Additionally, the Select All and Clear All options in the dialog make it easy for users to toggle all of the views on or off.

Example 2

In this example, the ColumnView tag does not have a defined group name. The default behavior of multiple-selection applies.

Because no group name is defined, the view names defined in the individual column tags display directly on the Change View menu. Users can click directly on these names to make the views active or inactive. They can also choose to Select All or Deselect All. If a particular view is currently active, the check box displays as checked.

One advantage of this approach is that it is very quick for users to toggle a particular view on or off, versus needing to launch a separate dialog where users must make selections. However, if there are many view options defined in the sheet then the menu may become difficult to use.

NOTE: If view headers are disabled for the menu, then the select and deselect menu items display as Select All Columns, Select All Rows, etc.

Example 3

In this example, a group name is defined on the ColumnView tag and single-selection is specified.

Because a group name is defined, the view names defined in the individual column tags now belong to this group name. But because single-selection is enabled, the individual view names now display as sub-menu items underneath the group name, instead of launching a multiple-selection dialog. When a user clicks on any of the sub-menu items to activate that view name, the other views in this group are made inactive.

When using this approach, it is recommended to define the group name so that it is clear only one item can be selected. For example, use "Select A Quarter" versus "Select Quarters". Keep in mind that if the sheet contains other column views that allow multiple selection, end users may be confused as to why the behavior is different for each view.

Order of views on the menu

If headings are disabled for the Change View menu, then all views display on the menu in alphabetical order, regardless of view type.

If headings are enabled for the Change View menu (the default behavior), then views display in the order they are found in the sheet (within each individual heading). There is one exception for row and column views: if the view has a group name and single-selection is enabled, then those views display at the top of the list, followed by all other views in the section.