Creating GridLinker Components

A GridLinker component is a device for combining two or more grids that are related to each other into a single container for placement in an .A5W page. The presumption is that the tables displayed in the different grids have a parent-child or parent-child-grandchild relationship.

When you select a (parent) record in a grid that has a child grid, you automatically reset the child grid to show only records linked to the parent grid. All components may have search and detail views.

The process of creating and using a gridlinker can be broken into these phases.

Create the grids that will be placed inside the gridlinker.
Create the gridlinker component.
Place the grid components into the gridlinker.
Place the gridlinker on an A5W page.
Publish the page containing the gridlinker.

Note : If you place the field that links parent table to child table on the child grid, this field must be editable (the control type must be TextBox ).

Selecting the Grid Component Type

After you create all the component grids:

Click Web Projects to start the Web Projects Control Panel.
Click New on the toolbar.
Select Web Component and click Next >.
Select Grid Linker and click OK to open the GridLinker Builder.
Click the Select & Link page selector.
Click Add to display the Select Grid Component dialog box.
Optionally, choose a different project from the Select web project list.
Select the first component that you wish to add to the GridLinker from the list at the left of the dialog box and click OK.
Optionally, specify a different Alias for the component. Each component in the GridLiniker must have a unique alias.
Click OK.
Repeat steps 6 though 10 to add any additional grid components.

Linking Components

The GridLinker component requires that the parent field and the child field be of the same data type.

So, when you define a link and you choose a Numeric field on the parent side, the combo box on the child side from which you must select the matching child field is filtered to only show Numeric fields. There may be no fields that are numeric, in which case the dropdown box will be blank.

Furthermore, remember that the list of choices for the linking fields on the Parent side is limited to those fields that have been actually placed on the Parent grid.

On the other hand, the list of choices for the linking fields on the child side is limited to those fields that are in the table, or view on which the child grid is based. It the child grid is based on a table, then all of the fields (of the correct data type) on the child side are available as choices. However, if the child grid is based on a view, only the fields in the view are available as choices.

Select a grid in the GridLinker Builder that has a child relationship to a different parent grid and click Link.
In the resulting Link dialog box select the grid that contains the parent table from the Parent drop-down list.
In the Parent Field list select the field that links to the child grid.
In the Child Field list select the field that links to the parent grid.
Click OK to return to the GridLinker Builder.
Repeat steps 1 through 5 to define the relationship between other pairs of grids.

Editing a Grid's Properties

You can change or override many of a grid's properties.

Select a grid in the GridLinker Builder.
Click Edit to display the Edit Properties dialog box.
To change the grid component you are using click the Change button to the right of Component.
To change the grid's alias click the Change button to the right of Alias.
To override other properties of the grid component, click Override Settings to display the Override Properties dialog box.
Optionally, display the Existing Properties tab to see a list of the properties that may be changed.
Enter new property settings, one per line, on the Override Properties tab. For example, to change the component's "Style_Name" property, you could the following command: Style_Name = "Airport".
Click OK to save your changes or Cancel to quit the Override Properties dialog box.
Click OK to save your changes or Cancel to quit the Edit Properties dialog box.

Other Commands

To remove a grid component, select it, then click Remove and Yes.

To edit a link between two grid components, select the child grid and click Edit Link.

To unlink a child grid component from its parent, select the child grid and click Un-Link.