Using Tables to Select, Navigate and Edit Data

Of all of the elements that might be present in views, tables are one of the most versatile, rendering a region built up from rows and columns of data. Individual table cells can be either read-only or they can be editable.

Xpress Insight tables offer a spreadsheet-style range of keyboard and mouse interactions for cell selection, navigation and editing.

When you begin interacting with a table, the first cell you click is known as the active cell and becomes an initial selection identified by its blue border and pale yellow background. You can change the active cell by clicking on another cell or navigating with the tab or arrow keys. If you press Enter while in an active, non-editable cell, the active cell switches to the next cell below it, or to the topmost non-header cell of the next column if the cell was in the bottom row.

Just click on a simple editable cell and start typing to change or replace its contents. Pressing Enter validates your changes and commits them - if the validation fails, the active cell remains where it is and a dismissible validation error dialog appears. Pressing Enter while in a read-only cell just advances the active cell as described above.

The data in some cells cannot be changed by simply overtyping - any attempt to do so causes an appropriate in-cell editor to appear. For example, a cell may contain a data item that must be selected from a drop-down list.

An In-cell Drop-down Editor

In this situation, make your choice and press Enter to commit your edit and move on to the next cell. If you know that a cell requires such a special in-cell editor, you can access it immediately by double-clicking in that cell.

More About Selecting Cells

You can use the mouse to create or modify selections - click and drag to create a block selection of cells, SHIFT+click to create a new block selection of cells, enlarging or contracting the previous selection. Larger selections than single-cell selections must be contiguous blocks of cells, and the active cell must remain within any possible larger selection.

As well as single cells and block selections, you can select single rows or single columns.

Tables that support row selection contain an extra, narrow leftmost column - click in one of its cells to select an entire row - it will contain a solid tick mark when it is selected. Doing so will also set the active cell to the first cell in the most-recently selected row. Row selection disappears when the arrow keys are used.

Selecting a Table Row

To select a column, click in the column header, avoiding the sort icon if present - the active cell is then set to the first cell in the recently-selected column. Column selection disappears when the arrow keys are used.