This area is located at the bottom of the work area. It allows the centralized management of component information. It can also be used to connect components, assign Supervisors, and change Data Field content. (Note: Data Outline View can only be toggled “on” and “off” through the Data View and Divisions View tabs.)
Data Outline View can display information in either a list or hierarchy form.
Data Outline: Hierarchy view
To toggle Hierarchy View on and off go to the View tab and select the leftmost icon. Click on Show Hierarchy. (A check mark will appear next to the title to indicate if the view is on or off).
In the hierarchy view a plus sign (+) means the list can be expanded into a hierarchy. A minus sign (– ) means the hierarchy is fully expanded. Clicking inside the box a second time will toggle between views. Each level or component can have its own hierarchy which can be expanded or contracted. The Data Outline View has these additional features:
Data Outline: Edit multiple components
Edit multiple components and their data fields simultaneously – Note: for multiple data fields to be edited at once, the data field being edited must be empty in ALL of the chosen components. If any of the selected components has an entry already in that field the process will not work.
To edit data fields in multiple components simultaneously, do the following:
- Make certain that there is more than one component on the chart.
- Choose multiple components by holding down the Left mouse button and dragging diagonally across an area just wider than all of the components.
- Examine the Data Outline View. Notice that the data fields for all the chosen components turn blue.
- With all of the components still selected, place the mouse cursor in one of the on screen components.
- Right-click the mouse to bring up a pop– up menu of options.
- Choose Properties from the pop– up menu. This will launch the Data Properties interface.
- In the Data Properties menu, edit the data field of choice and hit OK (for more details on editing data fields, see the Editing component data section).
- Click OK again to close the Data Properties menu.
- Notice that your new entry appears in all of the components. (Note: the edited data field must be set to “visible” for each component or the change will not be noticeable on screen.)
Data Outline: New data fields with unique titles
New data field titles can be created through a variety of methods. These new headings – such as Name, Company, or any other topic you choose – will be displayed along the horizontal title bar in the Data Outline View. For more details on creating new data fields, please see the Changing component data section.
New data field headings will only appear on the Data Outline View title bar after they are set to “visible” in the Box Item menu. For more information on hiding and revealing data fields, please see the Displaying and hiding a component’s data on the chart section.
Data Outline: Arrange titlebar in any order
Data field headings (such as Name, Company, etc.) can be arranged in any order along the horizontal title bar in Data Outline View. To change a heading’s location, do the following:
Click on the section of the title bar you want to move (i.e. Name, etc.).
Holding down the Left Mouse Button, drag the section horizontally across the title bar to a new location.
A translucent copy of the section being moved will indicate the field’s location as it is being moved. The copy will disappear when the mouse is released.
Release the mouse button. The section will appear in the new location.
Data Outline: Resize titlebars
Place the mouse cursor on the divider between one title area and another. It will turn into a two-sided arrow (see below):
Holding down the Left Mouse Button, drag the arrow horizontally across the title bar, making the area either larger or smaller. Notice that the size of the data field changes accordingly.
Release the arrow. The title bar and the data field are now the new size.