iRise Online by OneSpring

Datasheets and the value they add

I'm sure there will be plenty of blackash on this one but trust me when I state datasheets can be more trouble than their worth. Over the last several years we have nearly stopped using datasheets as we find the work to maintain them is simply not worth the gain. Instead we've delivered hundreds of demos and visualizations with merely clipboards and have found nearly if not identical end results. This is not to say we've entirely done away with them as there are certain cases where they become extremely vauable.

As we train several hundred users per year this is one topic that often is learned by trial and error. Many new users of iRise tend to over visualize thus making poor use of it's most powerful feature "the instant ah-ha" moment. more to come as my iPhone battery is dying, stay tuned.

Hidden Form Elements and Character Field Limits

As part of our new iRise Tips series, here are a few pointers related to hidden table elements:

Tip #1: Hidden elements of a table can really mess up the vertical spacing of a visualization page.  In order to maintain some order be sure to check your row height attributes.  Its important to set this field to null (empty) for each element of the page that is being hidden as iRise seems to distribute the spacing for these hidden elements throughout the rest of the page.  We've found that setting this to null produces a more consistent result.

Tip #2: Try to avoid spacer rows in hidden sections for the above reason.  If they are absolutely necessary, try slowly increasing the row height until you have the results that you want with, hopefully, minimal impact to your page.

Tip #3: If you find your text field elements in a form wrap to a new line unexpectedly, its likely that they are set to a null/empty field length.  Try expanding the width of your text area slightly using your mouse, and the handle elements on the text area, and this should resolve your issue.

Checkbox logic problem

I have a form that displays a data table containing 2 columns: Include? and Location.  The first table cell contains a checkbox that indicates whether the user has chosen to include that location in the content of another screen.  There is a GetRecord Action pulling include and location from a datasheet that contains the userid, location, and an include column.  If the include = 1, then the checkbox displays checked.  If the include = 0, then the checkbox displays unchecked.  When I change a checkbox on this screen and click the submit button, the change takes affect and the results are what I expect.

However, what I'm trying to do is add a text widget within the section this table is in called Select All that, when clicked, checks all of the boxes on the display screen, but doesn't update the datasheet.  Likewise, a text widget called Un-Select All that, when clicked, unchecks all of the boxes.  I don't want the changes to take affect in the datasheet until the user clicks the Submit button. 

I've tried using alternate views of the table section but when I run the simulation and click Select All, the screen refreshes and the alternate view displays, but in the datasheet, the value of the include column has changed to a blank.  As soon as I click either one of these text widgets, the screen refreshes, but the checkboxes are blank.  The datasheet changes the include to a blank even though the Submit button was never pressed.  Once it blanks out this include field, I cannot change the field value even if I check the checkbox on screen and submit.  How can I get the text widgets to update the screen, but not commit the change to the datasheet until the user clicks a button?

Spell Check

If you are using iRise Manager in conjunction with iRise Studio you can download a free plug-in for MS IE that will spell check the content within IE form fields thus providing a round about way to spell check your iRise requirements.

Validating Field Type/Format

I need to verify that a text entry field value, as entered by the user, is all numeric.  I know I can use the field properties for the field, but I don't want to handle my error messaging that way - I need to display it on a subsequent error page (in order to maintain consistencey with other error handling that is already built into the site design).

I'm not seeing an action that will provide that type of field-type validation.

Anybody have any thoughts on how to accomplish this?

Working With Calendars

2nd "How To" question of the night...

Is there any way to ensure the calendar widget pop-up (the actual calendar) pops-up OVER the top of other elements that are beneath it on the page?  The issue I'm having is that if I have a form with many elements, and a calendar in the middle of the list of form elements (middle, from top to bottom, not left to right), when the calendar itself is triggered on the page (by clicking the calendar icon), the visual calendar pop-up is often overlayed with the form fields beneath it.

Ordering the elements (from top to bottom) doesn't seem to help.

Any thoughts?

Working With Radio Buttons

Are there any tips or tricks for working with radio buttons?  I have a simple need to show two radio buttons and then save the value of the selected radio button when the form is saved.

The online help isn't much help in providing details on exactly what you have to throw to the datasheet when you submit the form - it would seem as though you would save the Radio Button Group (which would then send the value of the selected radio button to the datasheet), but iRise doesn't allow you to do that.

The second most likely option would seem to be to send both radio button values to one field in the datasheet, but iRise doesn't allow that either.

How is does it work?

Clearing Clipboard Values

Is there any shortcut to erasing clipboard values?  If you're using a lot of clipboard entries and want to erase those values (such as when a simulation user "logs out" of the simulation), it is tedious to have to send every constant to the clipboard with a null value just to clear them all.

Is there any quicker, easier way to accomplish this simultaneously for a group of clipboard entries?

Need thoughts on using select boxes

I have a situation where I want to use a drop-down select box to offer the user several options.  I want the selected option to dynamically change a section of the page beneath the select box.

I am having some trouble with this - the select widget doesn't quite have the functionality I wish it did.

Using a standard, static drop-down (I don't need the list to be dynamically generated), I am successfully able to allow the user to select and option, then pass the selection to a clickboard.  I am then passing a clipboard into the alternate view control for the section beneath the select box that I want to change based on user selection.

This all works fine - the issue is that I am unable to trigger a page refresh solely by the user making a selection.

It seems as though I should be able to do this - does anyone know if a user selection from a select drop-down should automatically trigger a page refresh?  I can see why it shouldn't trigger a page refresh (for instance if a user is just filling out a form and needs to make selections from multiple select drop-downs in the form, etc.).

I have also tried using a Jumpnav drop-down and I think I can make this method do what I ultimately want to do, but it seems like a very tedious way to accomplish this seemingly basic task.

Anyone have any thoughts?

A little something for your wall

Up to this point most of the posts here have really been for the intermediate to advanced users of iRise so this one is for the newbie and who knows maybe the veterans will get some use out of it as well. Print and enjoy. 

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