Automatic Row Heights in Collection Based List Boxes

List boxes are the most versatile and customizable form objects. Automatic row heights were already possible for array-based list boxes. With the arrival of 4D v19 R8, this possibility is now extended to list boxes based on collections… and entity selections!

HDI Database

This new feature will allow you to easily create this kind of list. With a snap of a finger!

Column property

Whatever the number of columns displayed in the list box, the choice of automatic line heights is made for each column and not for the list box itself.

This lets you define precisely what information will be displayed in the list box.

Example

Let’s take a concrete example.

You want to display a list of articles with a title, a subtitle, and a detailed description. The first column will usually fit on one or two lines, the second on three or four, but the last one may take up a lot of space which is not necessarily desirable.

In this case, you will apply the automatic line height only to the first two columns with meaningful content and accept that the detailed descriptions may be truncated.

list box PROPERTIES

When the content of a single row is likely to contain a large amount of data, it is appropriate to be able to set limits on the row heights to be displayed. This is done through two properties defined at the list box level.

These two properties replace the “row height” property and are only visible when at least one column has been defined as having an automatic height.

Conclusion

These new possibilities of displaying list boxes offer an increasingly modern UI.

Let us know what you think about this feature on the 4D forum. Looking forward to hearing from you!