Creating a Card Object

This topic describes how to add a new Card Object to a Screen or a Container and its specific properties.

To create a new Card Object, you need to access a Screen in Design mode.

Once you're in the Screen editing page, locate the Card Object from the Screen Objects list in the left panel, then drag and drop it onto your Screen or Container.

When you create a Card Object, it is initially empty. The next step is to configure a Layout that will define the data to be displayed. To do so, select the Card Object and click the "Configure layout" button () located in the Top Menu of the Capsules workspace.

See The Layout Object, Configure a Layout and About data blocks of a Layout for more details on the Layout Object.

 

 

Card Layout

The Layout editor for the Card Object is slightly different from the classic one, in that it offers some specific options and properties.
The main differences are highlighted in the image below:

Axis area

The Card Object supports only one Entity By Row and no Entities by Column.

Once an Entity is set By Row, the Card Object will display data from all Blocks defined in the Data Area for each member of that Entity.

The "Down totals" option is available In the Axis area settings menu, but it's not supported by the Card Object: any changes made to it will be ignored.

 

The Data Area

The Data Area of a Card Object Layout supports all kinds of Data Blocks (Cubes, Algorithms, Entities, etc.). All Data Blocks settings but the Detail By property are supported: for example, you can enable the data entry option on one Block and the Color Alert option on another one.

 

The Object preview pane

Each Block set in the Data Area is instantly displayed as a rectangle within a card element in the Object preview pane, as shown in the following image.

Each rectangle can be moved and/or resized inside the card element, just like Objects on a Screen: the configured size and position of each rectangle will be replicated for each card element displayed in the Object area.

You can preview all cards that will be displayed in the Object area by clicking the previous/next arrows on the sides of the pane.

Object properties

In the Layout editor, under the Object properties panel, the Column appearance menu allows you to configure how cells (rectangles) should look. Click on SETTINGS in the Object preview pane to open the Object properties panel. The following options are available in the dropdown menu for each Data Block:

  • Default
  • Checkbox
  • Button

You can also click the pencil icon to configure a Drill on one or more Data Blocks. See Drill-related paragraphs below for more details.

 

 

Card properties and settings

Card properties are available from the contextual right panel of the Screen editing page once the Object is selected.

The Card Object supports all options common to all Screen Objects except the Disable Drill down option.

Properties specific to the Card Object are highlighted in the following image and explained below.

The Card Object is responsive: once the Layout is configured, the Object area will display as many card elements as possible on each line.

You can set a fixed or dynamic card size from the card settings panel. You can also configure a gap (space) around each card element.

Additionally, there is a dynamic option for the card width, so there is a max and a min width to configure to have the objects automatically resized within these limits. These sizes are measured in pixels.

Under the Card settings menu, the following options are available:

  • Card width type. Choose from Fixed or Dynamic
  • Card height. When the "Fixed" or "Dynamic" card width type is selected, enter the desired card height in pixels
  • Card width. When the "Fixed" card width type is selected, enter the desired card width in pixels
  • Card min width - Card max width. When the "Dynamic" card width type is selected, card elements will automatically resize within these limits, depending on the user screen size
  • Card gap. Enter the desired space you want to add around each card element, in pixels. This setting is always respected, regardless of the active Card width type option

 

 

Interacting with the Card Object in Design mode

In Design mode, the Card Object provides the same interactive features available in Play mode, with a few notable differences regarding Drill functions.

You can also configure which options will be available in the contextual menu (sliding toolbar) in Play mode. To do so, hover over the Object area and click the contextual menu icon () in the top left corner, then expand it by clicking on the downward facing arrow: the configuration panel is accessible from the gear icon in the top right corner.

 

Default drill down

You can configure a drill down path that will be saved in the Card configuration: that will be the default drill that will be performed in Play mode, when end users click on the Drill down icon () or double-click on a member of the Entity set by row displayed in the card element.

To configure the default drill, proceed as follows:

  1. In a card element, select a member of the Entity set By row
  2. Click on the Drill anywhere icon ()
  3. From the pop up window, select the Entity to drill down on and click OK. The configured drill is performed
  4. Close the drill down window and save the Screen. The configured drill is now the default drill, both in Design and Play mode

 

End users will still be able to configure other drill down paths in Play mode, if they're allowed to do so. See next paragraph for more details.

Screen selections and selections made by the user using Selector Objects (if any) also apply to data in Drill down windows.
The Drill down configuration process can also be started by double-clicking on the item you want to associate a drill down path with.

Limit Drill down entities

You can limit drill down paths that end users are allowed to configure by selecting the Entities the user can drill down on.

To do so, check the "Limit drill down entities" checkbox in the drill anywhere configuration window and select the Entities you want to show to the end user. These entities will be the only ones available during the drill anywhere configuration in Play mode.

 

You can also configure a default drill down path from the Layout editor. To do so, proceed as follows:

  1. Select the Card Object and open the Layout editor
  2. Click on SETTINGS in the Object preview pane to open the Object properties panel
  3. Under the Column appearance menu, select the pencil icon to configure a drill down on one or more Data Blocks as described in bullet point n° 3 of the previous bulleted list
  4. Save the Layout.

 

 

Drill-to-screen

To allow users to drill-down from a member of the Entity set by row displayed in a card element to another Screen of the same Capsule with a selection on that very member, proceed as follows:

  1. In a card element, select a member of the Entity set By row
  2. Click on the Drill anywhere icon ()
  3. From the pop up window, select the Screen tab and choose the destination Screen. Check the "Same tab" checkbox to open the destination Screen in the same browser tab.
    • The Drill to screen mode, if enabled, will open the destination Screen with a selection on the member of the Entity set By row when the user double-clicks on it or selects it and clicks on the Drill-down icon ()
    • The Go to screen mode, if enabled, will open the destination Screen when the user double-clicks on the member of the Entity set By row or selects it and clicks on the Drill-down icon (). The destination Screen won't inherit any selection from the Card
    • The Dynamic screen option allow to select a Block (an algorithm) to dynamically change the Screen navigation based on another Block values (a text cube containing Screen names)
  4. Click OK to save the Drill-to-screen configuration.

The Drill-to-screen configuration process can also be started by double-clicking on the item you want to associate a drill path with.

 

You can also configure a Drill-to-screen with a selection filter applied based on the selected member of the Entity set by row from the Layout editor.
To do so, proceed as follows:

  1. Select the Card and open the Layout editor
  2. Click on SETTINGS in the Object preview pane to open the Object properties panel
  3. Under the Column appearance menu, select the pencil icon to configure a Drill-to-screen on one or more Data Blocks as described in bullet point n° 3 of the previous bulleted list
  4. Save the Layout.

The drill action will be triggered only if the user clicks on the rectangle corresponding to the Block where the Drill-to-screen has been configured.

 

This feature allows you to nest your analysis in a more powerful way than the standard drill-down, which only changes the level of granularity of a report. In a Drill-to-screen navigation the data represented (values, indexes) and types of objects (Charts, Dashboards, Data Views) may vary as the user drills from a top level view to another Screen at a more detailed level.

Screen selections and selections made by the user using Selector Objects (if any) also apply to data in in the target Screen.

 

 

Drill-procedure

It is possible to trigger a Procedure from a member of the Entity set by row displayed in a card element when the user double-clicks on it. The Procedure is launched with a selection filter applied based on the member clicked in the card element.

If a Drill-procedure containing two or more Procedures is configured, when the user double-clicks on a member of the Entity set by row displayed in a card element, a pop-up window will allow the selection of the Procedure to be performed.

To configure a Drill-procedure on a member of the Entity set by row displayed in a card element, proceed as follows:

  1. In a card element, select a member of the Entity set By row
  2. Click on the Drill anywhere icon ()
  3. From the pop up window, select the Procedure tab and choose the desired Procedures.
    • If the checkbox in the middle is unchecked, the dropdown menu on the left allows to choose from Procedures saved at the Capsule level
    • If the checkbox in the middle is checked, select a Data model from the dropdown menu on the right. By doing so, only Procedures belonging to the chosen Data model will be shown in the dropdown menu

    Click the ADD button on the right. Repeat the process for each procedure you want to add to the drill

  4. Click OK to save the Drill-procedure configuration.

The Drill-procedure configuration process can also be started by double-clicking on the item you want to associate a drill path with.

 

You can also configure a Drill-procedure with a selection filter applied based on the selected member of the Entity set by row from the Layout editor.
To do so, proceed as follows:

  1. Select the Card Object and open the Layout editor
  2. Click on SETTINGS in the Object preview pane to open the Object properties panel
  3. Under the Column appearance menu, select the pencil icon to configure a Drill-procedure on one or more Data Blocks as described in bullet point n° 3 of the previous bulleted list
  4. Save the Layout.

Screen selections and selections made by the user using Selector Objects (if any) also apply to data in the triggered Procedure.

 

 

Drill through

It is possible to execute a Drill through from a card element, when the user double-clicks on the member of the Entity set by row displayed in it. The Drill through is executed with a selection filter applied based on the clicked Entity member.

Drill throughs are configured in the Drill through section of the Data model.

 

To configure a Drill through on a member of the Entity set by row displayed in a card element, proceed as follows:

  1. Select the member of the Entity set by row and click on the Drill anywhere icon ()
  2. From the pop up window, select the Drill through tab and choose the desired Drill through
  3. Click OK to save the Drill through configuration.

The Drill through configuration process can also be started by double-clicking on the item you want to associate a drill path with.

 

You can also configure a Drill through with a selection filter applied based on the selected member of the Entity set by row from the Layout editor.
To do so, proceed as follows:

  1. Select the Card Object and open the Layout editor
  2. Click on SETTINGS in the Object preview pane to open the Object properties panel
  3. Under the Column appearance menu, select the pencil icon to configure a Drill through on one or more Data Blocks as described in bullet point n° 3 of the previous bulleted list
  4. Save the Layout.

Screen selections and selections made by the user using Selector Objects (if any) also apply to data in the Drill through.

 

 

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