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Although there is no exact formula to making the perfect Explorer page, there are some rules you should follow to make sure your page works well. This page provides a list of best practices to follow when creating a page using Explorer Studio.
Variables
- Use variables rather than static values to make your pages dynamic.
- Assign default values to the default variables, so that when a page is loaded data appears immediately.
- To simplify your work, keep the preconfigured default variables and do not change their names. If you do, you will need to change them in every component on the page.
Page Properties
Assign your page a thumbnail and description in the page properties to make it easier for users to find the page they are looking for.
Layouts
- Use the Grid Layout to organise your components in rows and columns.
- Use the Precision Layout when you want to create a schematic-style page or use hotspots.
- You can add a Grid Layout to a Precision Layout, and vice-versa. If you drag a Precision Layout onto a Grid cell, you will be able to move a 'set' of components in the Precision Layout by moving the grid cell around.
- Use the Switch layout if your page has complex logic around which elements should appear.
- When mixing row heights in the Grid Layout, use either fixed and dynamic or fixed and proportional heights. Do not use proportional and dynamic heights together as proportions cannot be calculated accurately when the height changes dynamically.
Tables
- Use Data Tables for looking at large amounts of data where it can be sorted, filtered, etc.
- Use the Table Layout for small amounts of data (<15 rows) with embedded graphics in each row, such as images and charts.
- When configuring rows and columns in the Pivot Table’s component editor, list columns and rows in descending order of magnitude, as this is how they will appear in the table. E.g. Country, State, City.
Date and Time
- When using any of the time components, set at least the end date as a variable, otherwise the component has no effect on the page at all.
- Tags and attributes have endTime as their preconfigured time when they are dragged onto a page.
- When using multiple time components on a page, be aware of what other date and time components already exist on a page, as these often share the same variables, and may affect or be affected by your new component.
Hierarchies & Entities
You should not use the Hierarchy control and Entity Selector on the same page, doing so may result in the controls competing with each other.
Embedding pages
Do not use Embed Page to embed a website that has a responsive layout, as the browser will attempt to resize the page to fit the grid space. Embed Page works best with pages with a fixed layout.
Page Effects
To create the effect of a tabbed page, use the Option Links control at the top of the page.