Managing Indicator Display Parts
Manager Contents
User Contents

Contents

Introduction
Indicator Types
Indicator Styles, Fills and Coloring
Settings for Indicator Display Parts
See also: Managing Display Parts and Dashboards
See also: Managing Chart Display Parts
See also: Managing Query Chart and Indicator templates

Introduction

Meter, Gauge, Slider and Thermometer display parts are collectively known as Indicator display parts. These may be used to graphically display numeric summary values. The summary values may be automatically calculated from sets of data, calculated by Stored Procedure, ActiveX DLL or Web Service data links, or read directly from fields in a record when the display part is used in Issue, Action or Subtask forms. Users can view the underlying data along with the graphical indicator, or may click the indicator to view the underlying data in drill down fashion.

Typical applications include:

  • Displaying process statistics, such as average process times.
  • Displaying quality metrics, such as supplier ratings, customer satisfaction levels, etc.
  • Displaying system usage metrics for administrative use, such as database size, user counts, etc.

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Indicator Types

The available indicator types are:

  • Meter - A Meter display part creates a circular or angular meter, much like a classic automobile speedometer or tachometer. Any number of colored zones may be added to the meter to indicate ranges (use the Add Meter Zone link on the meter's edit page). An annotation may also be defined that enables the meter to display a phrase such as "19 Tasks are Overdue", in addition to the meter indicating 19 on its scale.
  • Gauge - A Gauge display part creates a linear (straight) gauge, much like a classic automobile fuel or oil level gauge. The gauge may be oriented vertically or horizontally. A bar or arrow is used to indicate the current value, and the value indication can be augmented with configurable text (so as to indicate "6 Days", for example, instead of just "6").
  • Slider - A Slider display part is similar to a Gauge, but allows a configurable fill color or pattern fill to be used between the beginning of the scale and the current slider position.
  • Thermometer - A Thermometer display part is similar to Gauges and Sliders but uses only the configurable color or pattern fill to indicate the current value (in a traditional thermometer the "fill" is the red or silver liquid).

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Styles, Fills and Coloring

Indicators and chart items derive their basic style and coloring attributes from a Style Template, or from a set of fixed default values if no Style Template is selected. The display part configuration page allows various optional style and coloring attibutes to be specified. If an attribute is specified, it overrides the original template or default value. If an attribute is not specified, the original template or default value is applied. This allows for easy configuration without sacrificing fine-grained control of the look and feel.

Style attributes related to color and pattern exist in sets:

  • Style - A list with these choices:
    • {Empty Item} - Use the style from the Style Template, or use the default style if no Style Template was specified.
    • Simple - Apply a single color with no pattern,
    • Gradient - Apply a color gradient, where the coloring is smoothly blended from a start color to an end color. For example, a Gauge may begin with a yellow fill, then add more red to the fill as things get "hotter" moving up the scale.
    • Pattern - Apply a pattern with a selectable pattern type (weaves, dots, lines, waves, etc.), foreground color and background color.
  • Start Color - The color that provides the starting color for gradients, the foreground color for patterns, or the only color for a simple style.
  • End Color - The color that provides the ending color for gradients or the background color for patterns.
  • Gradient - Determines how the start and ending colors are blended to form the fill when Style is set to Gradient.
  • Pattern - Determines the fill pattern when Style is set to Pattern.

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Settings for Indicator Display Parts

General display part settings are described elsewhere. The following settings apply specifically to Indicator display parts:

  • Background {Style/Colors/Gradient/Pattern} - These indicator style settings determine the background used for the overall indicator image.
  • Calculation - The type of summary calculation that is performed on the data specified in Field Expression. For example, if Field Expression is set to "Field1 {-} Field2" and Calculation is set to Average, Field1 - Field2 will first be calculated for each record in the data source, and these values will then be averaged to produce the final value displayed by the indicator. The Record Count option does not use Field Expression, since it counts the records without accessing fields. The Single Value option is used to return data from only the first record in the data source (e.g., to display a value from an Issue record, or to display the result from a complex calculation performed by a stored procedure).
  • Center Position - The center position of a Meter, relative to the overall Meter image. The Meter needle pivots from this position.
  • Decimal Places - The number of decimal places used in the scale and value labels.
  • Drill Down Available - If checked, users may click on the indicator image to drill down to (view) the underlying data source data.
  • Field Expression - The name of a field (column) in the data source, or an arithmetic expression combining two fields from the data source. Arithmetic operators (+, -, x, /) must be enclosed in braces (ex: "Field1{/} Field2"). The expression is evaluated for each record in the data source, and the resulting data from each record is used in the Calculation described above. The final value from the Calculation is displayed in the Meter, Gauge, Slider or Thermometer. Field Expression is not required if Calculation is set to Record Count.

    Field expressions that calculate time spans may use the "{Today}" token to represent the current date. The default units for time span calculations are days, but hours, weeks, months, etc. may be specified. Here are some examples of field expressions:
    Example Result
    StandardSingle001 Returns the value of StandardSingle001 from the first record in the data source.
    {Today} {-} DateClosedGoal Returns the number of days between the current date and the goal date (the date in the DateClosedGoal field). The value will be positive if the item is overdue, negative if the goal date is in the future.
    DateClosedGoal {-} {Today} [Weeks] Same as the last example, but returns the number of weeks instead of days, and reverses the sign (overdue is negative). The available time span units are: [Seconds], [Minutes], [Days], [Weeks], [Months] and [Years].
    StandardDouble001 {x} StandardLongInteger002 Multiplies StandardDouble001 by StandardLongInteger002 and returns the result.

  • Fill {Style/Colors/Gradient/Pattern} - These indicator style settings determine the indicator fill in Gauges, Sliders and Thermometers. Note that in a Slider, the fill only extends from the beginning of the scale to the current slider position. The region past the slider position is controlled by the Slider Background style settings. Similarly, the Thermometer Background style settings control the region beyond the thermometer "liquid".
  • Fill Thickness - The thickness of the Gauge, Slider or Thermometer fill, in pixels.
  • Full Page Size Multiplier - This setting enables an indicator image to be generated in its original size (Height/Width) for use in Dashboards or forms, then expanded to a larger size when the user views it in a full page. The Height, Width and minimum pane width settings are all multiplied by this factor for full page displays. For example, entering a value of 2.5 means that the indicator image becomes two and a half times as large when viewed in a full page.
  • Indicator Color - The color of the arrow or bar in Gauges and Sliders. Not used for Meters or Thermometers.
  • Indicator Height/Width - The height and width of the arrow or bar in Gauges and Sliders. Not used for Meters or Thermometers.
  • Indicator Type - The type of indicator (arrow or bar) in Gauges and Sliders. Not used for Meters or Thermometers.
  • Initial Data - Specifies the data that is displayed with the indicator when the indicator is first loaded on a page
    .
  • (Include) Legend - This setting determines if a color-coding data legend is shown above initial or drill down data in a Contents or Data pane, when the data comes from a saved filter, hot list or other data source that offers legends.
  • Major Divisions - The number of major (large) divisions that the scale is divided into by major (large) ticks. There will be one more major tick than this number, since the beginning and ending of the scale each have major ticks. Major ticks are labelled with scale values.
  • Major Tick Size - The size of the major ticks in pixels. The minor (small) ticks will be half this size.
  • Margin (Left/Right/Top/Bottom) - Specifies the margin sizes as a percentage of the indicator image width (left/right) or height (top/bottom). Indicator labels and other annotations will extend into the margins as needed. If labels or annotations appear truncated, try increasing the margin size or increasing the height/width of the indicator.
  • Minor Divisions - The number of minor (small) divisions within each major (large) division in the scale. There will be one less minor (small) tick than this number. Minor ticks are not labelled with scale values.
  • Needle Color - The color of the Meter needle.
  • Needle Length - The length of the Meter needle expressed as a whole number percentage of the meter arc diameter.
  • Needle Width - The width of the Meter needle at its base, expressed as a whole number percentage of the needle length. The needle will automatically taper to a point as it approaches the scale arc.
  • Reverse Scale - Check this box to reverse the indicator scale. For example, a vertical Gauge will typically have its minimum value at the bottom. Checking this box would cause the Gauge to instead have its minimum value at the top.
  • Scale Color - The color of the indicator's scale.
  • Scale Label Offset - The distance that scale labels (numbers) are offset from the scale (ticked line) in pixels.
  • Scale Position - The position of the scale relative to the rest of a Gauge, Slider or Thermometer indicator. Choose Left or Right for a vertical indicator, and choose Top or Bottom for a horizontal indicator. Note that the orientation of the indicator (horizontal vs. vertical) is controlled by the Height/Width settings.
  • Scale Value Min/Max - The minimum (beginning) and maximum (ending) values of the scale. If both of these values are set to 0 (zero), CATSWeb will automatically set the scale based on the data value being indicated.
  • Slider Background {Style/Colors/Gradient/Pattern} - These indicator style settings determine the fill in the region of a Slider that is between the current Slider position and the end of the scale. The fill from the beginning of the scale to the current Slider position is controlled by the Fill style settings.
  • Start Angle - The starting position of the Meter scale arc, in degrees. The 3 O'Clock position is 0 degrees and degrees are measured clockwise from there. For example, a value of 90 will cause the Meter scale to start at the bottom of the image (6 O'Clock position).
  • Style Template - Style templates provide the overall look and feel for the indicator, including font types and sizes, colors, etc. Various attributes from the template may be overriden as described in the Indicator Styles, Fills and Coloring section above.
  • Sweep Angle - The sweep angle of the Meter scale arc, in degrees. For example, a value of 360 degrees will cause the Meter to be a full circle, while a value of 270 degrees will cause it to span 3/4 of a circle.
  • Thermometer Background {Style/Colors/Gradient/Pattern} - These indicator style settings determine the fill in the region of a Thermometer that is beyond the "liquid". The "liquid" fill is controlled by the Fill style settings.
  • Tick Color - The color of the scale ticks.
  • Tick Placement - The placement of the ticks relative to the scale.
  • Value Format - An optional format mask for the value label (ex: "#.## Units"). Any valid Microsoft.NET format string may be used.
  • Value Label Color - The color of the value label on a Meter.
  • Value Label Position - The position of the value label on a Meter.
  • Value Label Prefix - Text that is placed before the actual value in a value label on a Meter. If specified, a space will automatically be placed between the text and the value. For example, if the Value Label Prefix is "Late Items:" and the Meter is indicating 24, the value label will be "Late Items: 24".
  • Value Label Suffix - Text that is placed after the actual value in a value label on a Meter. If specified, a space will automatically be placed between the text and the value. For example, if the Value Label Prefix is "Items are Overdue" and the Meter is indicating 17, the value label will be "17 Items are Overdue".

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