Readerware Views

Readerware has four different types of views that can display the current search results, the table view, the tree view, the fish eye view and the thumbnail view.

You can select the current view from the view drop down list in the toolbar.

You can create additional views and maintain your views from the view display itself, as described below, or using the View Preferences.

You can create additional views by first selecting one of the default views, select the type of view you want to create. Then click on the save button, , in the toolbar, immediately to the left of the view drop down list. You will be prompted to enter the new view name, Readerware will then copy the current view and create a new view under the name specified. You can then customize the new view.

You can rename a view or delete unwanted views using the View Preferences.
 

The Table View

The Table view displays the search results is a table format. A unique feature of the Readerware table view, is that many of the columns are displayed as links, just like in a browser. Clicking on the links enables you to easily refine your searches. For example suppose you searched for all items in the database by clicking on the Browse button, , in the toolbar. Then you click on one particular title, now you see only items with this title.

You can use the Back/Forward buttons in the toolbar, , to navigate through your result tables, so you can easily return to the full display.

You can select an item in the table by clicking on the selection icon, . You can select multiple items by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking on additional rows. You can select a range of items by holding down the Shift key and clicking on the last item in the range.

If you doubleclick on the selection icon,  the product is displayed in your browser at the default web site. The default web site is the first one in the import URL list. You can change this using Site Preferences.

You can display the detail view for an item by clicking on the detail icon, , next to the item you want to display. Use the toolbar Back/Forward buttons to browse through each item displaying it in the detail view. Use the Back Up button in the toolbar,  to return from the detail view to the table view.

You can also edit your data right there in the table. Simply click on the edit icon, , next to the item you want to edit. Notice that the icon changes to indicate this item is in edit mode, . Click on any column in this row to change the contents. An appropriate edit field is displayed. For a title it will be an entry field, for the category column it is the Readerware maintainable drop down list etc.

You can customize the table view. To show or hide columns, right click on the column title to display the popup menu. You can hide the current column or show any previously hidden columns. The new column will be shown after the current column. So to show a column it is best to right click on the title of the column that you want to appear before the new column.

You can also move columns around, simply click on the column header and drag the column to its desired location.

You can sort the search results on any column(s). To set the first sort column simply click on the column header to sort the search results in ascending sequence. Click again to toggle the sort sequence and display the search results in descending order.

Hold down the Ctrl key, (Mac users hold down the Apple/Command key), and click on another column header to set up a secondary sort column. You can sort on as many columns as you want using this technique. For example you could sort your books by Category, Author and Title by first clicking on the Category column header, then hold down the Ctrl key, (Command key on the Mac), and click on Author then Title. An icon will appear in the column header to identify both the sort columns and the sort order.

The current view state is always saved when you exit Readerware or switch views so you never have to worry about saving your changes.

You can create as many table views as you want, each containing different columns and in a different order. The table view works with many other Readerware features. You will probably want to create views for more than just displaying data on the screen. Create report views. When you print the table view Readerware will print the current search results, just the columns displayed, in the correct order. Create a summary report view with just a couple of key columns, create an inventory report view with valuation columns etc. Again, you can create an unlimited number of views.

If you regularly export data from Readerware, create an export view to define just how you want to export the data.
 

The Tree View

The Tree  View displays a familiar explorer like tree structure. The tree nodes consist of authors and titles.

Click on the top level Readerware node and the right pane displays a table view of all items in the search results. This table is fully customizable and you can edit the items in the table. See the table view for more information.

Click on an author node and the right pane displays a table view of all items by the selected author. Again this table is fully customizable and you can edit the items in the table. See the table view for more information.

Click on a title node and the detail view for the item will be displayed. You can update and delete the item from the detail; view.

The bar dividing the tree view and the rest of the window can be moved around to allocate space as you need. The divider position is remembered when you exit Readerware or switch views.

You can use the Back/Forward buttons in the toolbar, , to navigate through all items. As you move between items, the detail view is displayed for each item and the current location is reflected in the tree. Use the toolbar Back Up button, , to return to the top of the tree.
 

The Fish Eye View

The Fish Eye View is a revolutionary way to display a large number of search results. When you only have a few items in your database, it can look kind of silly, but try it again when you have a several hundred or several thousand titles and you can see the power of the fish eye view.

The view is built around the root node in the center of a circle, colored dots radiate out from the center. The first row of nodes are yellow and represent authors, the next row of dots are green and represent the titles.

Need to find a particular author? Maybe you can see the author node, simply drag it to the center of the view. If you cannot see a particular author, click in the approximate position and drag to the center. Now this area of the view is enlarged as it moves and you can see more detail. Select the author node or go straight to the titles and drag them to the center.

Right click on a title node and you can display the cover image or detail view of that item by selecting from the popup menu. Click anywhere in the view to remove the cover image

Navigate through all items in the search results using the Back/Forward buttons in the toolbar, . Readerware displays each title in the detail view.

Click on the toolbar Back Up button, , to return to the fish eye view.
 

The Thumbnail View

The Thumbnail View displays all your cover art. You can easily scan your collection for a favorite title. Hold the mouse over an image and Readerware will display a popup window with full information on the title.

You can also navigate through the images using the cursor keys to move up, down, left or right. Use Page Up and Page Down to scroll a full page, use the Escape key to close the popup window.

Click on an image to select it, you can edit, delete or checkout the selected item.

To display the detail view simply double click on an image or hit the Enter key.

Navigate through all items in the search results using the Back/Forward buttons in the toolbar, . Readerware displays each title in the detail view.

Click on the toolbar Back Up button, , to return to the thumbnail view.
 

Changing the Default View

Readerware is setup to automatically select the default table view when it starts up. You can easily change this. The view works together with the default search, so you change the view by changing the default search. The basic process is, define the search you want, select the view and save the configuration. Here is how you would set up the default search to display all items in the tree view:
In the Search By drop down list, select Title

In the for field enter an asterisk, the Readerware wild card character

Click on Search to display all the items in your database.

Select Default Tree View from the view drop down list in the toolbar

Select Search->Save as Default Search from the Readerware menu

Next time you start Readerware it will display all items in the tree view. You can use this technique to customize the default search, perform any search you want and display any view, even user defined views.

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