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Specifying Common Widget Options

This page describes options that are used in multiple places when you configure widgets on Business Intelligence dashboards.

Customizing Print Settings for a Widget

You can print most kinds of widgets. To customize how the system prints a widget, access the Dashboard Editor, select the widget as described in Reconfiguring a Widget, and click Print Setup and then click Page Setup. You can modify the following options:

  • Reset — Click this to restore the default print settings for this widget.

  • Page Size — Specify the size of the pages. Choose a page size.

  • Units — (Read only) This field displays the units associated with the page size you selected.

  • Orientation — Specify the orientation of the pages.

  • Title — Specify an optional title to include in the PDF. See the first subsection for special options.

  • Subtitle — Specify an optional subtitle to include in the PDF. See the first subsection for special options.

  • Show Subtitle — Click On to include the subtitle in the PDF. Or click Off not to include the subtitle.

  • Listing Settings — Select this to access additional options that apply when the output is a detail listing. Then specify options as described in the subsection Listing Settings.

  • Filter Settings — Select this to access options that control the appearance of information about any filters applied to this pivot table. Then specify options as described in the first subsection.

  • Show Date — Click On to include the current date in the PDF, at the top of the first page. Or click Off to omit this information.

  • Show User — Click On to include the current user in the PDF, at the top of the first page. Or click Off to omit this information.

  • Page Margins options: Top, Bottom, Left, and Right — Specify the size of the top, bottom, left, and right margins, respectively.

Note that the Title, Subtitle, and Show Date options apply to Excel Export as well.

Requirements for Printing

When a user invokes the Print option, InterSystems IRIS uses Java to call out to a third-party PDF rendering tool. This means that Java (or specifically JRE, Java Runtime Environment) is required on the server accessed by the user’s local machine. For information on the requirements, see Configuring InterSystems IRIS for PDF Output.

Special Options for the Title and Subtitle

Within the Title and Subtitle fields, you can include a combination of static text and the following tokens:

  • {@filter.filterName} where filterName is the name of a filter defined for the given widget. Use the same name as provided in the Filter dropdown menu in the Dashboard Designer.

    In the PDF, this token is replaced with the current value of that filter.

  • {@date.dateFormat} where dateFormat is an integer date format, with the same meaning as the dformat argument of $ZDATETIME.

    In the PDF, this token is replaced with the date in the given format, followed by the time in 24–hour format.

  • {@variable.variableName} where variableName is the name of a runtime variable.

    In the PDF, this token is replaced with the current value of that variable.

Listing Settings

For Listing Settings, specify some or all of the following options, which take effect when the output is a detail listing:

  • Show Listing Filters — Click On to include information on the context used for the detail listing (that is, which member or members were selected before the listing was requested, as well as any filters that were in use). Or click Off to omit this information.

  • Show Zebra Stripes — Click On to use different colors for alternating rows. Or click Off to use the same color for all rows.

  • Font Size — Specify the font size, including units, for example: 6pt

Filter Settings

For Filter Settings, specify some or all of the following options, which control the presentation of the filter information:

  • Show Filters — Specify the presentation of the filter information. Select By Table (to display this information as a table on the top of the first page), By Title (to display this information as the subtitle or appended to the subtitle), or Off (to not display this information).

    By default, the filter information is appended to the subtitle area to the right of any specified subtitle.

    When you display filter information as a table, the table has two columns with level names (that is, the filter names) on the left and member names (that is, filter item names) on the right.

  • Table Style — Specify options to control the appearance of the table that is used to display the filter information.

    These options affect both the caption column (the left column) and the item column (the right column).

  • Row Header Style — Specify options to control the appearance of the row headers. These options override the Table Style options.

  • Item Style — Specify options to control the appearance of the item column. These options override the Table Style options.

  • Display Format for NOW — Specify how to display the NOW member of any time level, if that member is used in the filter and if the filter information is shown. Specify any of the dformat options of the $ZDATE function. For example, specify 3 for ODBC format (for example, 2015-03-27).

    If you leave this option blank, the PDF shows the NOW member as NOW.

Adding Widget Properties

Some kinds of widgets require properties, each of which typically corresponds to a value in the configured data source. (For example, if the data source is a pivot table, each property of the widget can be a measure in that pivot table.)

For a meter widget, each property is displayed in a separate meter within the widget. Similarly, for pivot table widgets, each property is displayed as a separate column. Scorecards have columns, which are similar to properties and can be configured in a similar way.

To add a property to a widget:

  1. Access the Dashboard Editor and select the widget as described in Reconfiguring a Widget.

  2. Click Data Properties.

    The system displays the Data Properties submenu, which lists any properties defined for this widget. For example:

    This widget has three properties: Patient Count, Avg Test Score, and Unique Doctor Count.

  3. Click the plus sign + button.

    The system displays a dialog box where you specify the property.

  4. For Value, select the property of the data source to display.

    For a meter widget or a scorecard, you can instead type a numeric constant.

    If you manually edit Value, note that if Value has a numeric value, the system assumes it is a numeric constant and displays that. If Value has the form =[propertyname], the system assumes it is a property of the data source and thus displays the value of that property. When you select a property, the system automatically wraps the property with =[].

    For a scorecard, you can instead type a formula.

  5. Optionally specify the following additional items:

    • Label — Type a label or optionally click the check box to the right of Label. If you click the check box, the system uses the localized name of this property as the label; this option applies only when Value is a data source property.

      If you type a label, note that you can include \n to force a line break in the label.

    • Hidden — Select this option to hide this value.

    • Value Column — Select this option to configure the value in this column as the value of the row. This value is passed to any custom actions; see Specifying the Value of a Row.

      Select this option for only one data property of the widget.

    • Format — Type a format string.

    Or specify these options later if you modify the property as described in the next section.

  6. Click OK.

Managing Widget Properties

For any widget that defines properties, the Data Properties submenu lists the properties defined for this widget. For example:

This widget has three properties: Patient Count, Avg Test Score, and Unique Doctor Count.

In addition to the specific property options documented elsewhere, you can perform the following general activities:

  • Change the order of the properties. To do so, first click the icon to the left of the property name, so that this icon is highlighted: property handle icon

    Then drag the property up or down in the list.

  • Delete a property. To do so, click the X button in the row for that property.

  • Reconfigure a property. To do so, click the property name. The system then displays a submenu with options. For details on the options, see the previous section. You can also specify Name. Make changes as needed.

Specifying Numeric Format Strings

In some meters and other places that display numeric values, you can use the Format option to control the display of numbers. In some cases, you can select an option or type a numeric format string. In other cases, you must type a numeric format string.

Selecting a Format String

In some cases, the Dashboard Editor provides the following set of choices for Format:

Option Example
### 6609
###.# 6609.1
###.## 6609.12
###.### 6609.123
#,## 6,609
#,##.# 6,609.1
#,##.## 6,609.12
#,##.### 6,609.123
##.##% 660912.3%

Typing a Numeric Format String

In all applicable places, you can instead type a numeric format string, which provides more options. You can specify a string that consists of one to four pieces as follows:

positive_piece;negative_piece;zero_piece;missing_piece

Where positive_piece controls how a positive value is displayed, negative_piece controls how a negative value is displayed, zero_piece controls how zero is displayed, and missing_piece controls how a missing value is displayed.

Each piece is a string that includes one of the following base units:

Base Unit Meaning Example
# Display the value without the thousands separator and without decimal places. 12345
#,# Display the value with the thousands separator. Do not include any decimal places. This is the default display format for positive numbers. 12,345
#.## Display the value without the thousands separator. Include two decimal places (or one decimal place for each pound sign after the period). Specify as many pound signs after the period as you need. 12345.67
#,#.## Display the value with the thousands separator. Include two decimal places (or one decimal place for each pound sign after the period). Specify as many pound signs after the period as you need. 12,345.67

You can include additional characters before or after the base unit.

  • If you include a percent sign (%), the system displays the value as a percentage. That is, it multiplies the value by 100 and it displays the percent sign (%) in the position you specify.

  • Any other characters are displayed as given, in the position you specify.

The following table shows some examples:

Example Logical Value Display Value
#,#;(#,#)

This corresponds to the default display of numbers.

6608.9431 6,609
–1,234 (1,234)
#,#.### 6608.9431 6,608.943
#%; 6 600%
$#,#;($#,#) 2195765 $2,195,765
–3407228 ($3,407,228)

Localization of Numeric Separators

Conventions regarding the use of specific numeric separators vary by locale. For example, within the United States, the comma , is used as the thousands separator, while the period . is used as the decimal separator. In many European countries, the period . is used as the thousands separator, while the comma , is used as the decimal separator.

This localization is applied automatically by InterSystems IRIS in accordance with your chosen instance locale; consequently, the formatting syntax for numeric strings is locale agnostic. Consider the following example.

In the bar chart widget depicted below, the Value Format in the bottom left corner is set to #,#.###, which causes the chart to use thousands separators and show three decimal places.

This same widget, with an identical Value Format string, will display the chart with European-style separators when the instance locale is set to one of the relevant European locales, as seen in the following image:

In order to leverage this automatic localization, ensure that you follow the instructions for selecting a locale described in Locale Definitions.

Specifying Table Text Styles

In tables and chart legends, you can specify options that control the display of text. The options are as follows:

  • Color — Specify the color of the text. The following shows an example of the user interface:

    The Color menu displays a palette of colors to choose from.

    To specify a color, optionally choose the name of a color palette from the drop-down list. (For example, the list option Standard corresponds to the color palette shown in the preceding example.) Then click a color in the grid to choose that color.

    Or click the magnifying glass icon, which displays a full-range color chooser. Click a color here or use the sliders to specify the red, green, and blue components of your color selection.

    To clear the color selection, click the X.

    Tip:

    An authorized user can add custom color palettes. See Creating Custom Color Palettes.

  • Background — Specify the color of the background, in the same way as described in the previous item.

  • Opacity — Use this option to specify the opacity of the background. The value 1 means 100%.

  • Font — Specify the typeface of the text. Select a typeface. To clear the typeface selection, click Default, at the top of the list.

  • Font Size — Use the slider to specify the size of the text or type a value into the input box.

    To clear the size selection, click the check box.

  • Text Style — Specify the style of the text.

    Select one or more options. The first three options make the text bold, italic, and underlined, respectively. The Cc option changes the text to capital letters as in the following example:

    The S option adds shadows to the text as follows:

  • Align — Specify the alignment of the text.

    These options make the text left-aligned, centered, and right-aligned, respectively.

Specifying Chart Text Styles

In charts and other graphical elements, you can specify options that control the display of text. The options are as follows:

  • Color — Specify the color of the text. For information on specifying this option and other color options, see the Color option in the previous section.

  • Stroke — Specify the color of the outline of the characters in the text. The following figure shows an example where Color is blue and Stroke is black:

    By default, the system uses the same color for the outline as for the text itself.

  • Stroke Width — Use this option to specify the width of the outline. The following shows an example of a medium-width outline:

    To clear the setting, click the check box.

  • Opacity — Use this option to specify the opacity of the text (which is 100% by default).

  • Font, Text Size, Text Style — See Font, Font Size, Text Style in the previous section.

Specifying Line Styles

In numerous places, you can specify options that control the display of lines and other graphical elements. The options are as follows:

  • Fill — Specify the color to use within the graphical element. This option applies to line markers and to parts of speedometers, for example. For information on specifying this option and other color options, see the Color option in Specifying Table Text Styles, earlier in this page.

  • Opacity — Use this option to specify the opacity of graphical element (which is 100% by default).

  • Line — Specify the color of the line that outlines the graphical element.

  • Line Width — Use this option to specify the width of the line.

  • Line Style — Specify the style of the line. Click Solid, Dashed, or Dotted.

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