Columns in Action View Templates

When you create or edit an action view template, you can define which columns you want to display in the action view results. The columns you display are based on the fields in the underlying dataview. To add columns, select the Columns tab when editing or creating an action view template. As you add and configure columns, the Preview panel refreshes to reflect your changes.

For more information about creating or editing action view templates, see What is an Action View Template?.

To manage columns:

  1. Click Add then from the Type column choose Field, Formula or Count depending on the type of column you want to add. When Field or Count is the Type, choose the field you want to use in the column. Only fields that have the Presentable checkbox enabled on the dataview can be selected.
  2. If necessary, edit column titles. The titles are used as column headings in the results grid.
  3. Depending on the column, you may be able to choose the Mode to use for subtotal and grand total rows. SUM will sum the values in the column, COUNT will count the number of visible records in the column, NONE will not perform any special function on the column.
  4. [Optional] If the selected Type is Formula, click to create a formula in the column. A green check is displayed when a formula has been applied. At runtime, calculations are displayed to the number of decimal places specified on the Action View Template - Column Formatting popup which by default is 2. Ensure that the title of the column makes the meaning of the calculation clear to other users.
  5. Select the Hidden checkbox if you do not want to display the column data. You can still use the data when filtering, sorting and grouping, and summarizing data.
  6. [Optional] Click Format icon to change formatting options including the way numbers are displayed, the number of decimal places shown, and the color of particular values. For example, if the column displays the Payment Status for sales invoices you may want to highlight "Unpaid" values by coloring them green. A green check is displayed when formatting has been applied.
  7. [Optional] Click Filter icon to apply a column filter. For more information and examples see About Column Filters.
  8. [Optional] Specify a Drill Action View Template if you want the ability to click on values in this column to drill to further analysis. This setting is unavailable for formula fields because they are not drillable. If the column contains a transposed value, click Transpose icon and specify the template to be used for each type of value. Choose a template that is based on a dataview that contains the transposed value.
  9. [Optional] Change the order of columns by dragging individual rows up or down the list. Ensure that you click somewhere within the grid first otherwise drag actions are not allowed during the current session and you will need to close and reopen the action view template, then try again. You can also change the order of columns by dragging them within the Preview panel.

Column Types

When you add a column to the action view template, you must choose its type:

  • Use Type=Field to create a column that will display a field's values.
  • Use Type=Count to create a column that will count a field's records. If aggregation is applied, subtotal and grand total rows still count the correct number of records (not the number of records that are visible).
  • Use Type=Formula to create a column containing a formula. For example, you could create a formula to calculate the variance between budget and actual figures. For more information see Building Formulae for Use in Action Views.

Modes

The mode determines what is displayed in a column's subtotal and grand total rows. You can only set a mode on columns containing numeric fields or formulae.

  • Use Mode=SUM if you want values in the column to be summed in subtotal and grand total rows.
  • Use Mode=COUNT if you want the number of records visible in this column to be counted in subtotal and grand total rows. These counts will change when aggregation is applied and duplicate rows are summarized.
  • Use Mode=NONE if you do not want to apply a special function. If the column is a formula, the formula will be reapplied across the subtotal or grand total row.
Note:

When Type=Field, the SUM and COUNT modes are only available if the field is marked as Aggregatable on the underlying dataview. When Type=Count, SUM is the only available mode.

Column Formatting

Formatting options give you some control over how data is displayed. You can define conditional formatting to draw attention to certain values. For example, if a column displays the Priority for tasks you might want to color any "High" values red to highlight them for attention. For numeric fields, you can also control the number of decimal places displayed and how negative values are shown.

Column Widths

You can set the default width of a column on the template preview. To change the width of a column, drag the boundary on the right side of the column heading until the column is the width that you want. Then, if necessary, repeat for any other columns. These widths are stored in the template and are used as default values on all related action views.

Column Filters

You can apply column filters to be more selective about what information is displayed in columns. For example, if the selection rule retrieves opportunity data you could apply column filters to display opportunity amount in different columns depending on an opportunity's payment type or probability. Only fields that have the Presentable checkbox enabled on the dataview can be used in column filters. For more information and examples see About Column Filters.