Custom overviews
Custom overviews can be configured for business objects and selected other entity types (Users, Company accounts, Documents).
Each 'Custom overview' defines a specific context for the listing of entities of that type in a view, which can be made available as a menu item of the menu bar of Lobster Data Platform / Orchestration.
►IMPORTANT◄ The default overview predefined by the system for an entity type appears only if no custom overview is assigned for this type at runtime.
Configuration
The name assigned in the Name (1) field is used not only to identify the custom overview as a configuration, but also primarily for the following mechanisms:
The Name (1) is attached to the Context (2) with a pipe symbol ('|') as a separator to define a specific execution context for the custom overview, which is the View name at runtime.
The Name (1) also serves as part of a Menu node name that is used (or not) to expand the menu bar depending on the selection for the Menu mode (8).
The Name (1) determines the labeling of a Menu item (if displayed) and the Title bar of the opened overview either directly or via the Localization or Company specific localization.
As soon as a specific Icon (3) is selected, it will be taken into account both when displaying a menu item and in the title bar of the opened overview.
The settings (4) (5) (6) and, if applicable, (7) concern the effects of the custom overview on the display of Details views for the entity type. The selection options are explained below in a separate section.
The variants for the Menu mode (8) are also explained below in a separate section.
As a Restriction (9), a more or less complex condition for the search (see Search builder) of entities in the Lobster Data Platform / Orchestration database can be formulated with the help of logical links.
It is checked in the example whether the 'active' (active) field of an entity contains the value false.
The overview lists only 'inactive' entities with this Restriction.
►NOTE◄ The custom overview defines only the data contents (entities) to be listed 'row by row' and not the appearance (projections, column definitions, etc.) of the data grid displayed in the view. However, the custom overview creates a 'custom' context via the View name for which specific data grid settings (see Datagrid preferences overview) can be configured and assigned at runtime.
Custom overviews must be linked to at least one Association criterion via the Assign (10) button in the ribbon. They are only effective at runtime if at least one of these association criteria applies in the given data context.
►IMPORTANT◄ The assignment of menu items for custom overviews is always done according to the all-matching principle (see Association criteria), so that all custom overviews assigned at runtime can appear as Menu items depending on the selected Menu mode (8). However, one special feature should be noted: If the same Menu node name results for several assigned custom overviews, then the menu bar displays only one Menu item. This refers to the custom overview for which the association criterion with the highest priority applies. If the priority is the same, the custom overview with the highest ID is preferred. Custom overviews that use the 'Hidden' menu mode are not taken into account in this process. With regard to the individual Menu node name, the best-matching principle applies accordingly, which also determines the appearance of the menu item (localization entry and Icon (3), if applicable).
Menu mode
The Menu mode (8) determines the effect of the custom overview on the appearance of the menu bar with the following options:
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Menu mode |
Effect |
Examples |
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Default |
A custom overview menu entry appears in the main menu level where the default overview for the entity type appears if no custom overview is available or applicable for the entity type.
If a Default menu name is specified, it overrides the value of Name (1) for the above purposes (View name, Menu node name, and localization). |
(Localization for a custom overview underlined) |
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Custom
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A menu item with the Name (1) for the custom overview is inserted under an existing or newly created menu path.
►NOTE◄ The Menu item order can be influenced via Localization or Company specific localization by assigning a priority value as localization to a Resource in the menuPriorities bundle for the Menu entry in question. If the Menu entry contains a user-defined component, the entry may need to be recreated. For example (see right and below), the Resource administration/issues would have to be added to the menuPriorities bundle in order to display the menu item 'Check!' at a rank position in the menu item 'Administration' that differs from the default (see below). |
Desired menu path: 'ADMINISTRATION/CHECK THIS!/Deactivated users'
Name (1): INACTIVE_USERS When selecting the 'ADMINISTRATION' entry, the internal name administration automatically appears as a Menu entry.
Localizations can then be performed in the bundle custom for the following resource names:
►NOTE◄ The custom bundle also offers a Resource that can be used to assign an icon to the menu item issues.
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Hidden |
No menu item is added for the custom overview. However, the relevant view name can be addressed e.g. via Open view (Form designer) or Open view (Action) to open the view automatically, provided that the Association (10) is ensured at runtime. |
n/a |
... 
►IMPORTANT◄ Changes to the menu bar will not take effect in the current session until the Reload main menu function is executed. This appears in the context menu as Preferences above the menu bar:
Detail view settings
As a rule, a custom overview for a specific entity type also always represents an interface for opening a 'details view' in which – depending on the applicable permissions – data of a selected or newly created entity can be displayed or entered.
For business objects, Lobster Data Platform / Orchestration provides a default overview and a default entry screen, each of which is subordinated in the menu bar to a menu item representing the type of business object:
The example shows the default configuration for a general business object of the 'NEW' type.
The default overview appears as the 'New Overview' menu item, while the 'New Details' menu item refers to the default input form.
For a general business object, unlike other entity types, the system does not provide a configuration for the default input form, but the menu item nevertheless already addresses the context (here: de.lobster.scm.common.bto::CommonBTO|detailsWindow|NEW).
By default – i.e. as long as no special settings are configured – a custom overview for business objects always refers to the default context for the details view, e.g. when the ribbon function 'New' or 'Edit' is selected for a selected row in the data grid or a double-click is executed in the data grid. Access to the details view would therefore be ensured even without a separate menu item for 'Details', which only supports the new creation of an entity when clicked in the menu.
Hide menu entry for details
The option If possible, hide menu entry for details? (4) can therefore be used to 'suppress' access to the details view via the menu bar provided by default. Specifically, the details menu item for an entity type (here: 'New Details') disappears from the menu if this option is set for all custom overviews assigned at runtime for that entity type. The wording 'If possible...' in the caption therefore refers, correspondingly, to the fact that 'nothing prevents' hiding the menu item.
If the parent menu item (here: 'NEW') no longer has any other menu items in this case, e.g. because all assigned custom overviews are located elsewhere via Menu mode (8) 'Hidden' or 'Custom', the parent menu item is also omitted.
Combined overview and details
In addition to the list area with the data grid, a view for an overview can also contain an integrated details area in which detailed data for a selected entity or an entity to be newly created is mapped to the layout of an assigned input form (or a system default for the entity type). This concept is called 'combined view'. It is used for some entity types (e.g. Users and Company accounts) by default, but can also be configured specifically for a custom overview by setting the option Show combined overview and details? (5).
Setting the option Show combined overview and details? (5) has the following effects:
Above the data grid in the open view for the custom overview, a details area is provided in which the layout of a input form assigned at runtime or the message 'No form was found' appears.
In the View name that defines the context within the opened custom overview, the keyword listDetailsWindow appears instead of the keyword listSearchWindow. This circumstance must be taken into account if specific ribbon macros, data grid settings, etc. already exist for the context of the custom overview. These must either be changed accordingly or, if necessary, duplicated and adapted so that these specifications continue to apply.
Specific details view
The option Use own details? (6) can only be selected if the option Show combined overview and details? (5) is deselected. For a combined view, the context of the custom overview applies anyway (listDetailsWindow).
Setting the option Use own details? (6) has the following effects:
More options for the configuration appear, namely the option Show own details in Menu? (7) in connection with the possibility to select a specific Details icon.
At runtime, the default context for the details display (in the example: de.lobster.scm.common.bto::CommonBTO|detailsWindow|NEW) is replaced by a specific context (View name) that includes the name of the custom overview (in the example: de.lobster.scm.common.bto::CommonBTO|detailsWindow|NEW|myContextDetails if the custom overview uses the name 'myContext').
This specific context can be used, for example, to assign specific ribbon macros to the view that displays the associated input form.
►IMPORTANT◄ By default, the call context has no influence on the selection of the input form to be displayed, which exclusively takes into account Association criteria according to the best-matching principle. If a specific form layout is also linked to the specific context, Association criteria must therefore be newly set up or adapted in such a way that the context can influence the selection. This is made possible by the $viewName$ variable provided by the system, whose value when opening the details view contains either the View name of the calling overview or the specific context for the details view. The latter concerns the case when the option Show own details view in Menu? (7) is used and the details view is called directly from the menu.
With reference to our example, an association criterion per Variable rule should check the $viewName$ variable against the following values:
With regard to the call from the custom overview: de.lobster.scm.common.bto::CommonBTO|listSearchWindow|NEW|myContext
With regard to the call from the specific menu entry: de.lobster.scm.common.bto::CommonBTO|detailsWindow|NEW|myContextDetails