Multi Context Edit Component

The Multi Context Edit component enables users to view information about one or more products in multiple contexts in a single, editable view. This component is available as a toolbar action for Node Lists, and only applies to objects of the product super type.

Note: The Multi Context Edit component is only available to users that have the 'multi-context-edit' component installed on their system. For more information, contact Stibo Systems.

Configuring the Multi Context Edit Component

Follow the steps described below to add and configure the Multi Context Edit component as a toolbar action on a Node List.

  1. First, add the component. Under 'Child Components' on the 'Node List Properties' screen in the designer, click the 'Add' button under the field for 'Actions'.

  1. Then select 'Multi Context Edit' from the component list. Click 'Add'.

  1. Once added to the list of actions for the Node List, double-click the Multi Context Edit component to configure.

  1. The configuration of the Multi Context Edit component is limited, allowing users to customize the button label, icon, and help text.

To make changes to the default button label or context help, add the custom text to the relevant fields. If nothing is added, the 'Label' default will display as 'Multi Context Editor' and the 'Context Help' default will display as 'Click to enter Multi Context Edit Mode'.

This is how the button will display at the top of the Node Editor screen:

To make adjustments to the button icon, users may select a new icon. For more information on selecting new toolbar action icons, refer to the Action Button Configuration on a Node List topic.

Configuring the Multi Context Edit View

The Multi Context Edit button will not display until one or more products have been chosen from the Node List. When clicked, a view-configuration window displays. In this window, users decide which headers and which contexts will display.

Follow the steps below to design the view that will display for the Multi Context Edit in the 'Select View and Contexts' screen.

  1. Select the view. The view selection functionality in the Multi Context Edit component is similar to that of the user configurable view component, which is accessible on Multi Edit Display Modes. In addition to allowing users to create new views, the Multi Context Edit component allows users to add and edit shared views created in the user configurable view component. Information related to how to create new views or apply existing ones can be found in the User Configurable Views topic.
  2. Select contexts. To move into the context selector section of the view configuration, users may either click the 'Set Contexts' option, found on the left-hand side of the window, or the 'Next' button in the lower right-hand side of the window.

  1. In the 'Set Contexts' section, all configured contexts for the system will display beside a checkbox.

When a check is placed beside a context, the view will display one listing in the table for each of the selected products in that checked context. For example, if two products were selected in the Node List, and two contexts were selected in this screen, four rows would display in the Multi Context Edit view, each product appearing once for each context.

Above the context list are three additional selection options: 'All', 'None', and 'Invert'. When a user clicks 'All', all contexts are selected. Clicking 'None' deselects all active selections. 'Invert' simultaneously deselects all selections and selects all unchecked boxes.

When the view is set as needed, click the 'Go to View' button to enter the Multi Context Edit view.

By default, the last view and context combination used will already be applied when entering the 'Select View and Contexts' window. It is important to note that the 'Go to View' button will not be activated until a view and at least one context has been selected.

Using Multi Context Edit

The view generated by the Multi Context Edit component is a full-screen overlay superimposed over the Node List. The Node List cannot be edited while the overlay is active.

For information on inheritance indicators, refer to the Display of inheritance in reference and attributes in tabular views section of the Node List Component topic.

In the screenshot below, a single item has been selected for four language contexts, 'English CA' (Canada), 'English IN' (India), 'English UK(Great Britain), and 'English US' (United States).

The numbers added on the following Multi Context Edit component screenshot correspond to the various elements listed below.

  1. Multi Context Edit display readout - Describes how many products have been selected for display as well as the number of contexts.
  2. View name - Displays the name of the selected view.
  3. Clear filter - Any filtering applied to any of the columns will be cleared when clicking this button.
  4. Multi Context Edit button - Returns the user to the view configuration without fully exiting the Multi Context Edit view mode.
  5. Clear Profile - If a profile has been run on any of the columns in this view, clicking this button clears the shading the profile applies that differentiates between cell content that is local for the context and which is not. The button name also changes from 'Show Profile' to 'Generate Profile'.
  6. Number of items - Lists the total number of rows included in the view.
  7. Close - Clicking the 'Close' button closes the Multi Edit Context view and returns the user to the Node List.

Data Profiling Using Multi Context Edit

The central feature of the Multi Context Edit view is the ability to create a data profile on the displayed data. Follow the steps described below to generate a data profile on the data collected in a Multi Context Edit view.

  1. Select the attribute columns that will be included in the data profile. It is important to note that only attribute columns will work with the data profiling feature. If aspects (like 'ID', 'Name', or 'Object Type') or references are selected, for example, these columns will be ignored in the data profile.

To select a column, click the column header. The column will be shaded blue when selected. In this example, the column 'Long Item Description for Products in the Textiles Vertical' has been selected.

  1. Click the 'Generate Profile' button in the upper left hand corner of the screen.

  1. Select the data profile criteria that should be applied to the selected columns. The available option is 'Find values that are local to the listed context'. When the radio button for that option is clicked, click the 'Generate Profile' button.

  1. A Profile Result panel displays the results of the data profile. The screenshot below shows the column that was profiled with the product's attributes that are local for the listed context shaded red, those that are not local to the context remaining blue-shaded.

The 'Profile Result' includes the name of the attribute column that was profiled with the number of contexts that met the criteria, in this case, which attributes were local to the context. Below the attribute is an 'All' metric that shows the number of all cell content for all selected columns that met the criteria. The 'Refresh' button allows users to re-run the same data profile action if the user believes additional changes were made since the last data profile was generated.

It should be noted that selecting a large number of objects coupled with a large number of contexts can create performance issues when rendering. The system gives admins the ability to display a warning when the number of nodes selected exceeds a configured maximum by adding the property MultiContextEdit.RecommendedMaximumNumberOfNodes=1000 in the sharedconfig.properties file. This property directs the system to display a warning message to the user if more than 1,000 nodes (a combination of objects and contexts) are set to display in the Multi Context Edit component. The '=1000' is the maximum that aligns with Stibo Systems' recommended practices, but can be set higher or lower, depending on customer requirements.