Submitted by Armando on 2010/09/12 16:53
If I re-click on the "field boxes" in the sort bar, it fixes the glitch.
 
There might be a few more weird things with the grouping by sort column. Would be great if these could be sorted out as the are immensely useful.

Comments

Yeah, there is some real weirdness going on.  See below for what I see after a refresh/F5.
 
 
 
On a related note, when the sort bar is open and I click on a column, shouldn't that column get added to the sort bar? Instead right now it just sorts by that column, without adding it to the sort bar. Then when I hit refresh/F5 its forgotten. Only sort columns actually listed in the sort bar are remembered after refresh/F5.
 
PS, For others looking at this, see the existing feature request in Mantis for remembering keeping sort bar after a refresh  http://mantis.sqlnotes.net/view.php?id=502
 
Thanks,
dave

Tom

2010/09/17 06:04

In reply to by reesd

> when the sort bar is open and I click on a column, shouldn't that column get added to the sort bar?
No:
To add a column to the sortbar you have to drag it into the sortbar.
 
The Sortbox in the source/filter bar is the only method of sorting that holds through a refresh. Me, I dont usually bother with the sortbar because of that - but it does work a lot quicker so it will be nice when it is fixed - and as you say it is in mantis.
 

jan_rifkinson

2010/09/17 07:25

In reply to by Tom

 tom > holds or doesn't hold thru refresh?

Tom

2010/09/17 08:30

In reply to by jan_rifkinson

[quote=jan_rifkinson]
 tom > holds or doesn't hold thru refresh?
[/quote]
 
It is a bit confusing with the names:
 
Sortbar loses sort after refresh         (Menu: Grid > Sortbar)
Sortbox keeps sort after refresh            (Menu: Grid > Sourcebar  /   Alt+S)

jan_rifkinson

2010/09/17 09:40

In reply to by Tom

Right you are; sorry. Do you think this is another example of things that should be re-examined for words / names, etc.? Or do you think it's ok the way it is?

Tom

2010/09/17 10:13

In reply to by Tom

[quote=Tom]
Sortbar loses sort after refresh         (Menu: Grid > Sortbar)
Sortbox keeps sort after refresh            (Menu: Grid > Sourcebar  /   Alt+S)
[/quote]
 
I'm not sure why there are two different sort methods - I wonder did it simply evolve like that, or was it planned (?)
 
Also dont know what plans are there but I think it would make sense if both were simply two aspects of the same thing:
 
Sortbar would be the like the GUI face of sorting
Sortbox would be like the commandline version of sorting
 
but both would be the same sort - i.e. if you change one the other changes.
 
 
Anyone else know any reason these are seperate? [I know it's possibly cause they might not be combinable (code-wise) but I'm wondering if there's other reasons I've missed]
 

Armando

2010/09/18 00:49

In reply to by Tom

Funny, I thought I posted an answer here but it has disappeared. Maybe a server hiccup.
 
What I said was :
 
- Pierre knows best why both are kept separate. yes, it has to do with how both are implemented, code-wise, but I don't know much more.
- I like Tom's formulation and it reflects what reesd wrote in Mantis :
 
[quote]
Sortbar would be the like the GUI face of sorting
Sortbox would be like the commandline version of sorting
[/quote]
 
- I'm not sure if there's any advantages to keep those separate. The only one, maybe : have default sortings one can set in the sort text box (filter) one can always revert too. Other types of sorting would be more temporary. I must say that I like the sort filter.
 
One thing that I really like with the sort bar though, is the "Group items by sort columns" option. Outlook has that and it's immensely useful as it instantly creates virtual "hierarchies". I.e. : If you have a field used for project names, and all tasks have a corresponding project name, you can group tasks by projects, and it looks really clean.
 
I could post screenshots if you want.

Pierre_Admin

2010/09/18 01:34

In reply to by reesd

This is fixed in v0.9.25B
 
The two sort are very different in their implementation:
  1. Sort Box: done at the database level
  2. Sort Bar: done a the grid level (Click on a column header). It now stays on a refresh if the Sort Bar is visible
This will be revisited in v0.9.27
 

jan_rifkinson

2010/09/18 10:03

In reply to by Pierre_Admin

Thanks Pierre. This is very helpful

Armando

2010/11/11 08:44

In reply to by reesd

[quote=reesd]
Hi Armando, You commented that this is solved in the two Mantis issues (linked below), but in 0.9.25E I am still seeing the grouping and column sorting disappearing when I refresh. Is it fixed in a newer version or am I missing something else? http://mantis.sqlnotes.net/view.php?id=408 http://mantis.sqlnotes.net/view.php?id=502 Thanks, d
[/quote]
 
Hi David
Here, when I refresh, groups stick, sorting stick...  But maybe are we talking about different things ?
 
Look at the screenshot. Projects names are grouped, then I refresh and everything stays :
 

Armando

2010/11/11 11:39

In reply to by reesd

Ok, maybe you mean after a grid close/reopen ? If that's the case, yes, you're right : the column sorting doesn't stay after a grid restart (column filters stay though). I'll create another issue for that.

reesd

2010/11/11 16:01

In reply to by Armando

No, I mean after pressing the refresh button or pressing F5. I lose both the grouping and the grid-level sorting.
 
Here is sample DB appointments when I first create a sample DB
 
 
 
Here it is after I choose group by sort column and clock on the appointments column:
 
 
And here it is after I press F5:
 
This is with 0.9.25E.
 
d

Armando

2010/11/11 18:04

In reply to by reesd

errrr.... I have no idea what's going on.
 
I tested it some more and while I don't see your problem, I see other problems !
 
Here's a longer screen shot with a sample DB. Version 0.9.25E :
 
 
 
Now, when the Sort Criteria applies to sub items is OFF, I see weird things : "Empty"  folders appear. But, it's not the same as what you see (in your screenshots)
 
 
 

reesd

2010/11/11 19:39

In reply to by Armando

Hi Armando,
 
How are you embedding Jing? I can capture, but I can't get embed to work in the forum.
 
d

Armando

2010/11/11 19:42

In reply to by reesd

[quote=reesd]
Hi Armando,
 
How are you embedding Jing? I can capture, but I can't get embed to work in the forum.
 
d
[/quote]
 
 
You need to save the screencast to your Hard Drive and then copy the path as explained in the indications in the link.

Armando

2010/11/11 18:51

In reply to by reesd

Ok, I get what you're doing differently. You haven't activated the sort bar. This isn't apparent at all in your screenshots, that's why I didn't suspect that it was the problem.
 
When sort bar is OFF, no sorting sticks. That's by design. Pierre is going to add so glue to all this so that feels more natural and intuitive. My feeling is that he should probably
 
1- completely disable column sorting when the sort bar is OFF; this will eliminate all confusion.
2- gray out /deactivate the "group by sort columns" option when the sort bar is off, AND make it a sub-button of the sort bar button.
 
 
I could put these in Mantis if everybody thinks these are good ideas.
 
 
Here
MANTIS
Update Issue1073
Grid Sort bar should be shown to enable grouping  New featurefeaturenew

reesd

2010/11/11 19:13

In reply to by Armando

[quote=Armando]
Ok, I get what you're doing differently. You haven't activated the sort bar. This isn't apparent at all in your screenshots, that's why I didn't suspect that it was the problem.
 
When sort bar is OFF, no sorting sticks. That's by design. Pierre is going to add so glue to all this so that feels more natural and intuitive. My feeling is that he should probably
 
1- completely disable column sorting when the sort bar is OFF; this will eliminate all confusion.
2- gray out /deactivate the "group by sort columns" option when the sort bar is off, AND make it a sub-button of the sort bar button.
[/quote]
 
You're right, I didn't have the sort bar on and works correctly when its on (though I found a different problem that I describe in separate post).
 
I have some questions about the design though, why do I need to have the sort bar on to sort? A user doesn't need a special bar in Outlook or Excel to do column sorting, they only need it when doing grouping.
 
I'm not sure I should need it for basic grouping either. If I just want to group by one column, then the "group items by sort column" works just fine without the user needing to give up real estate or add the complexity of the sort bar.
 
I would suggest the user should be able to do column sorting, and one column grouping without the sort bar. And those changes should persist across a grid refresh. Is there a technical hurdle that I am missing? Or maybe there is a design advantage to not allowing column sorting that I am missing?
 
 
d

Armando

2010/11/11 19:39

In reply to by reesd

There's a story behind that :
 
1- IQ allows manual sorting. To protect that, sorting using columns (which has the potential to destroy your manual sorting) is made more deliberate if you need to activate the sort bar.
2- sorting can also be achieved by using the sort text box in the source bar. This is generally what I use and I never sorted using columns until recently (since sorting sticks...)
 
Pierre has plans for sorting, and make the sorting using columns be the default mode. There's also the intention to prevent any automated sorting when the sortbar is off : that would be the manual sorting mode. In automated (column header mode), you wouldn't be able to manually move items around (in terms of sorting) like in all other applications which use automatic sorting (outlook etc.). This stuff hasn't been put in Mantis yet and I will do it tonight.
 

reesd

2010/11/11 19:38

In reply to by Armando

Here is one small issue.
 
When you first launch IQ you can sort columns by clicking on them. But seems you can only sort in one direction. You can also group by the sort column.
But if you open the sort bar and then close it, you lose that functionality.
 
Depending on how the discussion goes in the other post, my first choice would be for the sort functionality to stay around whether the sort bar is up or not. My second choice would be that it be consistent, so you can't sort at all without the sort bar.
 
Here is a link to a video demonstration:
 
d

Armando

2010/11/11 19:40

In reply to by reesd

[quote=reesd]
Here is one small issue.
 
When you first launch IQ you can sort columns by clicking on them. But seems you can only sort in one direction. You can also group by the sort column.
But if you open the sort bar and then close it, you lose that functionality.
 
Depending on how the discussion goes in the other post, my first choice would be for the sort functionality to stay around whether the sort bar is up or not. My second choice would be that it be consistent, so you can't sort at all without the sort bar.
 
Here is a link to a video demonstration:
 
d
[/quote]
 
You found a bug ! I'll add it to mantis later. Thanks.

Armando

2010/11/11 20:21

In reply to by Armando

MANTIS
1072
ON first IQ launch : you can sort columns by clicking on them even if "sort bar" is OFF.  Bugminor

Armando

2010/11/11 19:54

In reply to by reesd

Yes, you might have missed it, but I noted that earlier in one of my previous post. I also created an entry in Mantis and in the bug section of the forum.
 
The problem is that "sorting applies to sub-items" isn't ON. When you turn it ON, this problem goes away.

Pierre_Admin

2010/11/12 00:37

In reply to by Armando

Done !
 
(actually, I had done it before reading your post... great minds think alike !)
 

If you guys don't mind, let's create another thread to discuss separate sorting issues. There are already 3 mantis issues associated with this thread and it's going to start getting hard to keep track of everything.
 
I'll start a thread later concerning the "sort bar" button, manual sorting and the sort text box. Maybe Pierre can say what he sees for that.

Hi Pierre,

I think that there's only one out of three issues fixed here. 3 different issues in relation to sorting and this thread were entered in Mantis. (That's the main reason -- and very important IMO --  why I find that the forum is not such a great choice as far as a bug cataloguing and todo listing is concerned : many things get lost. But, in Mantis, nothing get's lost. It's clear, organized, no fluff.)
 
The 2 other issues I'm thinking of are :
 
Update Issue 1072   ON first IQ launch : you can sort columns by clicking on them even if "sort bar" is OFF.
(This is actually not as accurate now. You can actually sort by clicking on headers until you first click on the sort bar.)
 
Update Issue 1070   Keep grid sorting / grouping (using sort bar) after a Grid close/reopen
 
 
 And a n one :  when you turn the sortbar OFF, the items stay grouped... And they shouldn't, since grouping is a "subset" of the sortbar function.
I can put that in Mantis if necessary...

Pierre_Admin

2011/04/01 17:13

In reply to by Armando

Fixed in v0.9.25O
 
(Sort sub-items had to be enabled for this to be a problem)