This is a quick guide on the different controls/buttons available when configuring a view.


The Controls panel is reached by clicking the settings cog icon:




Header

Turn on UI for others using the view. This allows the view creator to enable some of the editing controls to view users. It applies specifically to the controls in the header bar. 


To see how this will look for a user, toggle between the edit and view mode using the slider in the top right. 

Note: You will need to save the view before some of these are visible in view mode.


Default Buttons

Always available to editors/admins. Toggle on to enable for other users.

  • Search: Enable the search bar for users.
    Note: this is a full city search and as such can allow a user to pull in new elements or element types not currently in the view.

  • Save As: Enable the Save As button so that a user can save and edit a copy of the view.
  • Share: Enable the Share button which opens the view in a new tab or window where the URL can be copied and shared with others.
  • Query: Enable the Query button which allows a user to edit the pattern that produced the view.



Global Action Buttons

These action buttons will show up on the right click menu when clicking on the background (i.e. not on an element) and the right side detail panel for when nothing is selected or the info panel.


Default Buttons

Always available to editors/admins. Toggle on to enable for other users.

  • Clear: Remove all nodes added via Search or Expand. Does not effect nodes that are in the view due to the pattern query.
  • Add Node*: Open a modal that allows a user to create a new element of any element type. To restrict the types a user can create, leave this unchecked and use the Element Creation Button controls (next paragraph). †

Element Creation Buttons

Add action buttons to create* elements of a specific type. †


Add an action button to create elements, defaults to an element type in the pattern from the query builder but can be changed by editing. The button can be edited by clicking the pencil icon or removed by clicking the X icon. There are three options when editing:

  • Icon: Icon for the action button, defaults to a plus icon "+"
  • Label: Text for the action button, defaults to the element type name
  • Element Type: Element type to create with the action button


Element Type Action Buttons

These action buttons will show up on the right click menu when clicking on any element in the view and the right side detail panel for each element type.


Default Element Actions

Always available to editors/admins. Toggle on to enable for other users.

  • Edit*: Open the form to edit the element.
  • Expand: Add to the view elements connected to the the selected element or elements. They are not added immediately, clicking the button will open a modal with a list of the element types connected and the number of elements in each type which can be unchecked to exclude. Note: expansions can be removed by right clicking on the background or a specific node.
  • Export: Download a spreadsheet with details about the selected element or elements
  • Hide: Remove the selected element or elements from the view. Note: hidden elements can be unhidden by right clicking on the background.
  • Merge*: Merge the selected elements (see this article for more information on merging).
  • Delete*: Delete the element completely from the city.


Additional Custom Actions

There are several additional custom action buttons that can be added to element types. Use the plus "+" button next to "All Element Types" to add action buttons to all elements in the view, regardless of type. To add action buttons to elements only of a specific type, use the plus "+" button next to the element type for which you would like to add the button.


Note: The Edit Element, Delete Element, Expand All, Hide, and Merge buttons function the same as their global counterparts but allow them to be applied only to specific element types. For example, if making a view of Users and Organizations where Organizations should be editable but not Users, you would need to leave the default Edit action disabled and add a custom Edit action for the Organization element type.


The available custom actions are:

  • Create Element*: Functions the same as the Global "Element Creation Buttons" option, but allows for creating a connection between the selected element and the created element (required params to be configured). Options are Icon, Label, Element Type, and a section to add/edit prams (advanced).
  • Redirect: Opens another page. Options are Icon, Label, URL, and Open in new tab.
    • URL is the address or link to the page to open. It will default to the element's page but can be changed. Use double braces "{{}}" to template element properties. For example if an element had a URL property and you wanted an action button that took the user to that web address you could use "{{element.properties.URL}}" ‡.
    • Open in new tab, default checked, will make the link open in a new tab or replace the existing tab if unchecked.
  • View: A specific configuration of a redirect button to open the element's page (Note: the default Redirect button and the View button are essentially the same.)
  • Connect: A specific configuration of a redirect button to open the collaboration page. While this technically works on non-User element types it is only intended for use on Users. 
  • Expand Custom: Add elements of a specific type or types that are connected to the the selected elements to the view. Unlike the general Expand/Expand All, this button will immediately add the elements to the view. Options are Icon, Label, and Element Types.

* These options alter city data not just the view. Care should be taken with these as they cannot be undone.

† Elements added via the Global Action Button "Add Node" and Element Creation Buttons will open the element creation form defined in the Model. On submission the element is added to the city and will appear in the view if it matches the pattern defined in the query builder.

‡ Element property templating (advanced) requires knowing the field id of the property. This is beyond the scope of this article but in general the field id will be the field name but with non alphanumeric characters replaced with underscores "_"; however, changing the field name will not change the field id.