block-specific cell border color within a dataview: how ?

Hi everybody,

In a dataview, i try to have different colors (for each block) in terms of cell borders. A parameter for cell border is also nice to have. I don't find where to set this up. I have looked there:

Dataview Menu > Layout > Block configuration > Format: I can set foreground and background color of the cells, not the border colour though
Dataview Menu > Settings > Format > Graphic options > Edit Cell template : this is not a block-specific setting.

Here an example of what i wish to achieve, you can see the different colors for each block, as well as the different border style (width)

Thanks for your help,

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Robert Barkaway

Hi, unfortunately there's currently no way I know of to set formatting for cell border colours for individual blocks, only the background and foreground colours. The closest I know of if you want to highlight certain columns with a coloured border would be to create an empty column by setting it as a text algorithm column with a value of " ", custom formatting it to have the background colour of the desired border and then placing one copy on either side of the column to be highlighted. You can then set the width of the "border" columns to be narrow enough so as to appear as a border for the column being highlighted. See below

screen capture

I realise that isn't exactly what you're trying to do but perhaps it might be of some use to you or somebody else looking to highlight a column in this way, the Alert functionality could then also be used to set the "border" colour dynamically if desired.

Brendan Broughton

Agreed, this would be great. But in it's absence another 'workaround' could be to split your 3 blocks into 3 separate dataviews, linked (so they scroll together), and with only one 'row heading' showing. This would look like one table and would allow you to control the border of each 'block' independently. Not ideal by any means but it might help you get closer to your desired output. We often do this when we are limited in our formatting options.

Björn Reuber

Hi,

another workaround would be to use a DV with option "Allow Column Resize" disabled and use small labels for the Color Coding:

Previous Member

Many thanks for your hints Rob Barkaway, Brendan Broughton and Björn Reuber.

I wish I could find an easy way which doesn't mean loosing flexibility (e.g. option "Allow Column Resize" disabled) or increase maintenance (split the 3 blocks into 3 separate dataviews, linked).

I have seen this feature block-specific cell border color in a webinar, but i don't know how it has been configured, and whether it is one single dataview or more...

unknown

Maybe you can setup something using the entity template within entity menu (obviously, if the number of codes in the entity is more ore less constant and manageable), though you must recall it from the layout you're working with.

Hope this helps,

Previous Member

Thank you for your message.

Unfortunately the entity template apply to the entity members, and not to the singular blocks of a dataview.

If i would define an entity template, it would apply for all blocks of my dataview, which is exactly what i try not to have.

If you look the screenshot of the very first message of this thread, you can see that the entity month (by row) doesn't have specific border properties, but the 3 blocks do have specific and different border properties.

Regards,

Björn Reuber

Hi,

I spent some time to find the application, but I didnt found it. I think in the application it was "workarounded" using Labels and with disabling the opportunity to collapse the DV

Regards

Björn

Previous Member

Thank you for searching. I saw this within this recorded webinar.

Previous Member

Hi interested typ,

when you look closely at the webinar you can see that the "colored borders" are already on the screen before the dataview has built, so they are probably labels as Björn Reuber has already assumed. Usually we use this "workaround" too.

Once I had the case that the dataview had to have a horizontal scrollbar and the borders had to be dynamic, too. For this case I created a second dataview with the same columns, but instead of showing values and rows I made sure the columns are colored the way the labels would have been and that the dataview is only about 5px high, which made it look like there were labels. This way I could link both dataviews and be dynamic when using the horizontal scrollbar. If you are using the web client make sure the dataview height is at least 20px - otherwise the output is not appropriately visible.

Maybe this could help someone

Best regards,

Bettina

Previous Member

Aow, you and Björn Reuber are right indeed,

the "colored borders" are already on the screen before the dataview has built

Could you explain or show the properties you have changed (for the second dataview) to get this blue and green colors as in your example above ?

Previous Member

Sure, interested typ:

I modified in the block format settings just the background - and in case your block does not only show a " ", also the foreground settings - in the color I'd like to have:

For the small space between both cells I use the "vertical border lines".

Best regards,

Bettina

Previous Member

Thank you for your help.

So I get this as an example result, using 3 additional dataviews on top of the original one:

I guess I would have needed 9 labels if I would have gone for label approach.

Not very satisfying indeed, and not practicable for a standard usage within a BOARD application, because of loss of usability (keyword: print the screens, or drill-down on the dataview) and increased maintenance effort needed for each dataview...

I tried to display the last line (TOTAL) in bold, but didn't found where to set it. In Dataview Menu > Settings > Format > Grand total foreground I saw only the ability to change the color of the text, not other properties like bold, italic and so on...

Any ideas ?

Johannes Blischke

Hi interested typ,

you can change font family, size and properties like bold, italic at the bottom right of the format settings tab.

Cheers

Johannes

Previous Member

Ow thank you Johannes Blischke, I understand now I was not precise enough. I wanted the whole last line in bold, which means also including the word "TOTAL", i.e.

TOTAL

2.816.999

2.623.087

for this purpose, the block configuration (format tab) is unfortunately not enough.

Previous Member

Have you noticed any rendering difference between Windows and web client ?

In my case (I used additional dataviews, no labels) the result in the web is not usable:

windows
web with Chromium.

Previous Member

Hi everybody,

thanks for contributing to this question. I opened an idea for this topic since I believe this is not addressed in the current BOARD software versions. Therefore I close this question

Brendan Broughton

interested typ ...yes we have on many occassions. Overlaying/aligning of objects doesn't appear/work the same in webclient as it does in native client

Johannes Blischke

Hi interested typ,

please excuse me for misunderstanding you. Now i got your point.

Sorry, but a direct graphical change of the total line is not possible. There are a lot different ways to mark the "TOTAL" bold, but the more comfortable your solution has to be the more complicated it is to be implemented.

1. Just use a label object to overlay the "TOTAL".

- This is a static solution and as you mentioned above, it is connected with increased maintenance effort and a loss of usability.

2. You can use a second dataview which shows only the TOTAL row. For this create a new entity (for example "TOTAL Countries"). There is only one member to add: "TOTAL". Now create a new cube (you can name it like the entity) with dimensions like your source cube. Remove the country dimension (related to your example) and replace it with the new "TOTAL Countries" entity. Create a new procedure with a dataflow where you shift all values from your source cube to the new cube.

Now you are able to add a second dataview below the first (you have to remove the down totals function in the first dataview).

- This is also a static solution but you are able to link the dataviews. Horizontal scrolling is now possible with this solution.

3. Just a short explanation for solution #3

Related to your example: Add another entity member to your countries entity with code & desc "TOTAL" and also to each related entity. Check your relationsships between the entities. You need a temporary cube with the same dimensions like your source cube, but remove the country dimension. In a procedure you have now the following steps:

- (Selection on country) Exclude entity member "TOTAL"

- (Dataflow) Shift your source cube to your new temporary cube.

- (Selection on country) Select only entity member "TOTAL"

- (Dataflow) Shift your temporary cube to your source cube

You can adjust the settings of "TOTAL" via an entity row template for your country entity.

- This is a very dynamic solution and a higher BOARD experience is recommanded for this solution. Maybe you also need a sorting cube which defines the sorting of your entity by row (country) and so on.

Let me know if you need further assistance.

Cheers

Johannes

Previous Member

Hi Johannes Blischke

I agree with you

but the more comfortable your solution has to be the more complicated it is to be implemented.

I was hoping some setting like in the picture below: I can currently set the color of fore- and background of the grand total line, and I would have wished to also set it bold, italic, etc...

Another place for such a setting would have been here :

where the drop-down list would have more occurrences than <entire control>

Anyway, thank you very much for the 3 approaches you describe!