GUI Tables

Real-time Tables & Heat Maps

There are two main types of visualizations in AMI. Real-time visualizations and static (datamodel-based) visualizations.

Real-time panels connect directly to the AMI Real-time Database (AMIDB) and display data as it is updated in the database. With real-time panels, there is no need to refresh as any update is immediately pushed to the visualization.

There are three different types of real-time visualizations: tables, aggregate tables, and heat maps.

Tables

Real-time tables are useful when it is necessary to get a tabular view of the data that is being pushed to the AMI real-time database or to view the changes that are being made to the existing data. Tables can be modified in order to best present the data (discussed in the Columns section).

To create a real-time table, click on the green configuration button on a blank panel and select Create Realtime Table/Visualization from the menu. This will open up the real-time visualization wizard.

Expand the AMIDB Tables tree, select the table you would like to build the table and click next. In the last step of the wizard, modify the table if any changes are necessary. Click Finish to build the table.

Aggregate Tables

Aggregate tables are real-time tables that can be used to obtain a summary of data grouped by certain variables. Aggregate tables will integrate changes to the data in real-time.

To create a real-time table, click on the green configuration button on a blank panel and select Create Realtime Table/Visualization from the menu. This will open up the real-time visualization wizard. In the wizard, select the Aggregate Table icon and the data you would like to aggregate. Click Next to view the aggregation options.

In the last step of the wizard, choose the variables to Group By (or hide) and the variables to perform aggregations on. The types of aggregations available are: Count, Sum, Max, Min, & Average. Click Finish to create the aggregate table.

The group by columns will be in bold.

Aggregate Table Settings - Grouping Columns for Aggregation

A unique setting found in aggregate tables is the option to choose how hidden grouping columns affect the aggregation.

When set to Hidden and Visible, the table will consider all grouping columns (including hidden columns). When set to Only Visible, hidden grouping columns will not affect the aggregation.

This is useful when you would like to temporarily change the aggregate view without deleting any grouping columns.

The aggregate table when set to Only Visible and CIOrdID is hidden

Heat Maps

Real-time heat maps are real-time graphs which allow the user to visualize the data using different colors and sizes; enabling a quick interpretation of large amounts of data. Various colors can be assigned to a range of values.

To create a real-time heat map, click on the green configuration button on a blank panel and select Create Realtime Table/Visualization from the menu. This will open up the real-time visualization wizard. In the wizard, select the Heat Map icon and the data you would like to use. Click Next to view the heat map options.

In the last step of the wizard, choose the variables to use for Top Level Grouping, Grouping, Size, and Color. Click Finish to create the heat map.

A heat map with preset colors will be created. In order to make any adjustments to the heat map style, such as the gradient colors used for the nodes, select Style from the panel configuration menu. Click on the Color Gradient field (found under Nodes) to assign different colors to various points in the range.

Three points chosen on the range with three different colors

Static Panels

Static panels render data from one or more datamodels. Please refer to the Data Modeler section of the GUI Tools documentation in order to get a better understanding on the use of the data modeler and the creation of datamodels before using static visualizations.

Static Tables

Static tables (and heat maps) are not vastly different from their real-time counterparts and much of what applies to real-time tables applies to static tables. The datamodel and its settings will determine what is pushed to the static visualizations. A major difference between real-time and static visualizations is that static visualizations can be inherited through the use of included layouts, whereas real-time tables will not (please refer to the Included Layouts section of the GUI Tools documentation for more information on the use of included layouts).

Trees

Static trees provide a tree view of the data from a datamodel. The data is grouped and aggregated by one or more fields.

To create a tree based on a datamodel, select Tree Grid in the static visualization selection window of the Visualization Wizard.

In the Create Tree Grid window, select the columns to Group By and the columns to Aggregate By. Each column in the Group By section will be used for a level in the tree, which the very top column being used for the highest level. Click on Create Tree Grid to finalize the tree creation in the visualization wizard.

To modify any of the groups, use the Grouping tab on the left. In the following example, Grouping 1 will be the highest level of grouping with Grouping 3 the lowest level of grouping.

To add any other level of grouping, click on the <Add Grouping Formula> button. In the Grouping Options window, the position of the grouping can also be modified (also applies to the groupings that have already been created).

Whenever any changes are made in the visualization wizard and you would like to preview it, click on the 'Refresh button. Click Finish to create the tree.

The default aggregation is sum; to modify the aggregation, click on the column of the variable to be used and make the necessary changes in the Display field of the Edit Tree Column window.

Leafs

The default setting on tree tables is to not show the leafs.

To view the leafs, select Groupings from the tree's configuration menu (green button). In the Tree Grid Settings, click on Show Leafs and then click on the Leaf Formatting button that shows up.

In the Leaf Options window, use the Display field to select the variable to be used as the leaf. In this example, it will be Name. After making the necessary changes, click Submit on the Tree Grid Settings window to implement the changes.

Compared to the tree table before, you are now able to see the members of the Government Form level.

Columns

Adding, Editing, Copying, & Deleting Columns

Adding

(Note: these options are only available when in developer mode)

There are three ways to add columns in tables

1. Click on the green button to bring up the panel configuration menu and select Add Column

2. Click on a column to bring up the column menu. This method allows you to place the new column in between existing columns. In the menu, select whether to add the new column to the right or left of the selected column

3. Click on an open area of the header in order to bring up the header menu. In the menu, select Add Column.

Add Column menu

Display	Use variables, operators, functions, and icons to create the content for the column
Sorting	Use variables, operators, and functions to apply a sorting to the contents of the column
Format	Choose the format of the column (e.g.: text, numeric, time, date, price, etc.)
Title	Create a title for the new column. Must be unique from existing columns.
Header Style	Apply different fonts, alignments, style, and colors to the column header
Description	Add a description/help which can be seen when clicking on the column header
Column Position	Drop down list of various positions where the new column can be placed (can also be hidden)
Style	Apply a style to the contents of the column (including font and alignment)
Foreground Color	Apply a color to the contents of the column
Background Color	Apply a background color to the column
Clickable	Makes the contents of the column clickable

Examples

Adjusting header and column styles

Column Description

Editing

There are two ways to edit columns

1. Click on the header of the column to bring up the column menu and select Edit Column

2. Click on the green button to bring up the panel configuration menu. Highlight Edit Column to bring up the list of columns and select the column

Both options will open the Edit Column window, which is the same as the Add Column window.

Example

Conditional Formatting

Formatting can be used to highlight data in specific formats when certain parameters are met. In this example, the Price is set to be in bold red and highlighted if it is greater than $50.

The onEdit Callback

This callback is triggered whenever a value in the table is edited and then saved. This does not trigger if the value is the same as its original state when saved; if the value has been changed and then reverted to it's original state before being saved it will not trigger.

Two tables are returned when triggered, vals and oldVals.vals contains the latest version of the edited cells while oldVals contains the original values before being saved.

The values stored inside these tables are defined using the edit column menu. The menu can be accessed by left clicking the header of a column and choosing the edit column option from the dropdown box as shown above. Looking at the cell editing section of this menu allows the user to define how they want this column's data to be accessible to the user.

Example

At the bottom of the menu there is an option labelled clickable, when this is set to On the user will be able to double click cells in this column and edit them in real-time. The data in the table backing the table visualisation will only be changed if the user has written a specific script to do so.

There are multiple options available, the readonly option allows the user to include the value of the cells in the vals and oldVals tables. The other options define the datatype of the new value that is entered into the edited cell, this datatype must match the original type of the cell.

Copying

In order to copy a column, click on the column to be copied and select Copy Column. This will bring up the Edit Column menu. Apply a different name and click Update.

Note: if the column to be copied has any input in its fields, those fields will also be copied.

Deleting

There are two ways to delete a column.

1. Click on the column header and select Delete Column from the column menu. There will be a confirmation prompt before final deletion.

2. Click on the green button to bring up the panel configuration menu. Highlight Remove Column to open a list of all the columns in the table. Select the column to remove.

Sorting

Columns can be sorted in multiple ways

Primary Sorting

Primary sorting will remain in place until it is cleared. Any new data added to the table will automatically be sorted. There are two ways to add a primary sort to a column.

1. Click on a column to open the column menu. Select either Sort Ascending or Sort Descending

2. Hover over the column header - this will bring up the sorting arrows on the right side of the header. Clicking on the up arrow will apply a sort in ascending order & clicking the down arrow will apply a sort in descending order

After applying a primary sort, the corresponding arrow indicating the type of sort will appear in the header

Application of a descending sort

In order to cancel a primary sort on a single column, use the Sort Ascending Once or Sort Descending Once options from the column menu. This will perform a sort which will not remain in place and the primary sort will no longer be applied to the column.

Secondary Sort

Secondary sort can be used to further sort the data based on multiple columns. The secondary sort option will not be available unless there is a primary sort in place on one of the columns.

Example

Table without any sorting applied

Sort Ascending applied to Continent

Secondary Sort applied to Region

Secondary Sort applied to Name

In order to clear all of the sorts on a table, click on any column and select Clear All Sorts from the column menu.

Pinning & Sizing

When working with large tables, it may be necessary to keep certain columns pinned. To do this, select the column to be pinned and select Pin To This Column. That column and every column to the left will be pinned.

The header of pinned columns will be in bold and a vertical line will appear as you scroll to the right of the table.

Use Clear Pinning to clear all pinning.

You may manually resize columns or have it done automatically. To resize any column, hover over either edge of the header, click and drag to the desired size. To have this done automatically, using the width of the longest record(s) in the column(s), select Auto-Size This(All) Column(s) from the column menu.

You can also click on an open area of the header in order to bring up the header menu. In the menu, select Auto-Size All Columns

Filters

To apply a filter to a column, click on the column header and select Filter from the column menu. This will open the Filter window.

Filter By	Drop down list to determine whether or not to show/hide based on exact/pattern match
Match Selected Values	List of all of the unique records in the column. Select or more records to filter on.
Custom Value	Input specific value to filter on (may be a record that is not in the column yet)
At Least	Include or Exclude record in the At Least field
At Least	Input specific value to be the minimum
At Most	Include or Exclude record in the At Most field
At Most	Input specific value to be the maximum
Include null	Check to include null

When a filter is applied, the column header will be highlighted in orange.

Quick Filters

A faster way to apply filters to a column is to use filter fields (quick filters) in the column headers. Quick filters are on by default but you may disable this in the panel's Style menu (panel configuration menu > Style > Column Filter). You may adjust the style of the filters using the same menu.

When you click on a quick filter field, a autocomplete list will open. This will be a list of all of the unique records that are in the column. Select a record to apply a filter based on that record.

You can also narrow down the list by typing a few letters/numbers.

When working with number columns, you may use operators to specify ranges (in addition to searching for an exact match)

Using the Clear Filter option in the column menu will clear both regular and quick filters.

Arranging & Hiding

There are 3 ways to access the Arrange Columns window.

1. Click on the green button to bring up the panel configuration menu and select Arrange Columns

2. Click on a column to bring up the column menu and select Arrange Columns

3. Click on an open area of the header in order to bring up the header menu. In the menu, select Add Column.

You can also click and drag a column to its desired position.

Arrange Columns Window

All of the columns of the table are listed in the Visible Columns section in the order they appear. You can use the control buttons on the left side of the box to move the selected column(s).

The Hidden Columns section will contain the columns you choose to hide from the table. Use the control buttons in the middle to switch a column from being visible to hidden.

The Search field at the top can be used to search for specific columns. As you type, matching columns will be highlighted and the number of columns found will be indicated to the right of the field.

When you are done rearranging, click on the Apply button.

Hiding a single column

In addition to using arrange columns to hide columns, you can hide a column directly by clicking on a column's header and selecting Hide This Column. To make this column visible again, use the arrange column window.

Searching

When working on a table with many columns, you can use the Search Columns window to quickly jump to the column.

Click on any column and select Search Columns from the column menu. You can also use ALT + R hotkey to bring up the Search Columns window.

Search Columns Window

As you start typing in the Search field, the Results section will update with the matching columns. After selecting the column from the Results field, you can use the 3 buttons to either move the column to the left/right of the column you clicked on or snap/jump to the column.

Format

When working with number columns, you can quickly change the format of the column contents by using the Format option in the column menu. When available, hovering over the Format option will expand with a list of options available based on the content format.

Note: the underlying data is not changed.

Examples

Column where the cell content format is Numeric

Column where the cell content format is Date & Time

Column where the cell content format is Date & Time w/ nanos"

Reset all Columns to Defaults

To completely reset and revert any sorting, sizing, filtering, and arranging (note: hidden columns will become visible again), use the Reset All Columns to Defaults option from the column menu.

Relationships

Relationships are used to establish links between the various panels in a layout. Establishing links between panels enables the drilling down of data from one table to another, the querying of static tables, and the rendering of displays in charts. When establishing a relationship, one panel will be considered the source panel and the other as the target panel.

Please refer to the Creating a Relationship Between Visualizations section of the GUI Getting Started for the steps in creating a relationship between two panels. This section will discuss the Behavior section of the relationship menu.

Run Relationship

In real-time when user highlights rows causing query to change	Only runs the relationship if the rows selected will result in a change of the target table
In real-time when user highlights rows	Will run the relationship whenever a new row is selected
Only when user selects from right-click menu	Creates a right click menu in the source table. Use the right click menu to run the relationship.
Only when user double clicks on the row	Double click to run a relationship
Only on amiscript	Will only run when a script telling the relationship to run is executed

Example of a right-click menu

Display Option

Bring target panel to front: when a relationship is run, the target panel will appear at the front of the dashboard. This will also work on minimized or hidden panels.

Leave target as is: the target panel will remain in place - minimized or hidden panels will stay minimized or hidden.

When Nothing Selected

Do Nothing	Results from the latest query will remain in the target panel
Clear	The target panel will clear of all results
Show everything	The target panel will display all of the records that belong to the data set chosen for the target panel
Same as selecting everything	The target panel will display all of the records that correspond to the records currently shown in the source panel