Defining views for a Management Center object

Before you define views for a Management Center object, ensure that you understand the difference between the explorer view that controls what is displayed in the main work area and the list, properties, and calendar views that are displayed in the Management Center main work area:

Explorer view

The explorer view is a tree view that controls what is displayed in the main work area. Select a node in the explorer view to display the view that is associated with that node in the main work area. The content of the explorer view is divided into three parts: the Search Results node, the Active Work node, and the business object nodes.

The Search Results node displays at the top of the explorer view. When you select this node, the latest search results list view is displayed in the main work area.

The Active Work node is the parent node for all of the business objects that are currently open. Select a business object node under the Active Work node to display the properties view for that business object in the main work area.

The rest of the explorer view is reserved for nodes that represent the business objects that are found under the Top object. Define the Top object by declaring an instance of wcfTopObjectDefinition under the wcfBusinessObjectEditor instance. The child of the Top object can be a combination of organizational objects (defined by declaring an instance of wcfOrganizationalObjectDefinition) and primary objects (defined by declaring an instance of wcfPrimaryObjectDefinition).

To control which of these child objects are visible, declare one or more filters as a child of the business object editor instance. If more than one filter is declared, the explorer view contains a filter selector that you can use to select a different filter. If the visible organizational objects or primary objects have children that match the criteria for the current filter selection, you can expand the tree node and view the child objects. When you select a node that represents a child of the Top object, the current navigation list view for the selected object is displayed in the main work area. Define navigation list views by declaring instances of wcfNavigationListDefinition as children of the wcfPrimaryObjectDefinition or wcfOrganizationalObjectDefinition instance that describes the business object.

List view

A list view lists objects in the form of a table, providing information about the object, within table cells (for example, a list of promotions, showing the name, start and end dates, and status). Reorder, hide, or show columns in the list view. If information is editable change the information directly from the list view.

List views are defined by extending the wcfGrid class.

Properties view

A properties view allows you to edit all the details of a single object (for example, a detailed view of all the criteria for a promotion). The properties view can contain entry fields, check boxes, radio buttons, lists, tables, collapsible groups, and tabs. Access the properties view by creating an object or by opening an existing object.

Your object's properties view can be an extension of wcfObjectProperties.

Calendar view

A calendar view shows details about an object from a scheduling perspective, by using horizontal bar graphs (for example, a scheduling view that shows the duration of a promotion). Calendar views are available in the Promotions and Marketing tools.

A calendar view is a specific type of list view. Your object's calendar view should be an extension of wcfGanttGrid.