Column Definition
Description
General Column Standards - The standard column guidelines are described in the Details field.
Motivation
To ensure a consistent manner of showing general columns in views.
Example / Details
The following general settings should be used for view columns:
Tab Name
Setting
Value\Remarks
Basics
Title
Column names should be short and descriptive.
Width
Uncategorised columns should be just wide enough to show the title and all
column data.
Multi-value separator
None if it's known for sure that the column will only display single value
data. If not, use the setting New line.
Resizable
On.
Hide Column
Off, unless the column should be hidden. Hidden columns can be used to sort
data based on values the user does not need to see.
Show Twisty when row is expandable
On.
Show responses only
Off, unless the functionality of the application requires that this setting be
on.
Display values as icons
Off, unless the purpose of the column is to display information in the form of
an icon.
Default column font type
Default Sans
Default column font size
8pt
Default column font color
Black
Default column title font type
Default Sans
Default column title font size
8pt
Default column title font color
Black
Sorting
Sort
Ascending. The first column in a view should always be sorted or categorised.
Starting from the second column in a view, or the second column after the last
category column, the columns should not be sorted.
Type
Standard. Categorized should be chosen for one to three columns in a view.
Never categorise a column that is to the right of an uncategorised column.
Case sensitive sorting
Off if there is no sorting chosen, On if there is Ascending or Descending
chosen.
Accent sensitive sorting
Off if there is no sorting chosen, On if there is Ascending or Descending
chosen.
Show multiple values as separate entries
Off if it's known for sure that the column will only display single value data.
If not set On.
Click on column header to sort
See table below for more information.
Totals
See table below for more information.
The following table gives an overview of the columns settings for certain types
of columns
Column Type
Guidelines
Calculated Columns
Place columns which show totals as close to each other as possible.
Unless necessary, set the Hide detail rows check box to On (otherwise the view
begins to look very crowded).
User Sortable Columns
Use of columns which can be sorted by users is advisable, particularly if it
saves the designer from having to create more views. However, sortable columns
do increase view loading time. In addition, using sortable columns in a view
with categories will lead to some strange visual effects for users. If the user
clicks on a sortable column that is not categorized in such a situation, the
categories disappear. All documents will be sorted according to the Sort column
irrespective of the categorized column. Clicking on the column heading again
(but not on the sorting arrows) will restore the view as categorized.
Columns Text
Should be left justified.
Financial Amounts
Should be right justified.
Currency symbol should be shown in the column heading in brackets. For example:
Profit ($).
There should be 2 decimal places shown, unless the amounts are rounded off to
whole number amounts.
Use standard punctuation by thousand decimal places.
Numbers
Should be right justified.
Should try to keep the number of decimal places to no more than 2 unless
necessary.
Use standard punctuation by thousand decimal places.
Dates
Should be left justified.