Apex is pleased to announce general availability of Apex Coach Views Release 1.5 that includes new capabilities described below. This release contains 11 new views enhancing our data binding, layout and grid functionality. Additionally, many views have been updated to support responsive mobile design and to improve page performance. Check them out!
Enhanced Data Binding
- A new Binding Coach View has been added to the toolkit to make it easier to work with server-side variables on the client. Additionally, the @binding and @options capabilities make it easier to perform client-side logic when server-side variables change.
Dynamic Table
- A set of coach views has been introduced to enable client-side editing of data in a grid presentation. These views include Dynamic Table, Row, and Cell. In prior versions of ACV, editing data in a grid format was accomplished by using a combination of Dynamic Section and field views. The Dynamic Table and it’s related views simplify your design and allow you to implement this interface faster.
Client-side Data Manipulation on Lists
- The new Calculate and Iterate views have been released to allow you to easily manipulate lists of data on the client. These views are not visual in your design but have a wide range of use when needing to run client-side calculations or JavaScript operations on a list of items.
Grid Row Section
- The Grid Row Section extends the library of Grid views by introducing a new interface for viewing additional details and editing an item within a Grid Row. Multiple rows of data can be edited at a time with Grid Row Section and since the interface is inline, you won’t lose access to any data on your screen.
Grid Complex Row
- The Grid Complex Row increases the amount of data that you can show in a Grid by allowing multiple lines of data per grid item. By putting Grid Row views into a Grid Complex Row, you can expand the attributes shown for a single item and conditionally display Grid Rows making Grids more effective in narrow layouts.
Collapsible Sections
- Several layout views have been updated to allow the section to be collapsible. The Vertical, Horizontal, and Table Sections have all been enhanced to allow the contents of those sections to be collapsed or expanded on page load, and then be collapsed or expanded by the user clicking an icon. Of course, the regular way of having the section always visible is still available too!
Responsive Mobile
- Making corporate applications operate on mobile devices is increasingly a requirement for application developers. In this release, certain coach views have been updated to enable better usability on mobile devices. These include:
- Horizontal Section — Introducing a “Wrap” config option, which dynamically adjusts the content of the section to fit a smaller mobile device.
- Dynamic Section — Introducing an “Orientation” config option, which will allow the repeating section to repeat vertically or horizontally.
- Tabs — Introducing a new layout option, “Accordion,” which will present your tabs in collapsible content panes.
- Grid — Introducing a “Minimum Width” config option on columns, which allows you to specify the minimum width of the column before it is hidden on the grid. Columns hide from right to left as the screen is made smaller.
Performance Improvements
- Release 1.5 introduces the Template Loader and Template Wrapper coach views that allow sections of your application to be cached and loaded only when needed. Packaging a portion of your coach into a Template Wrapper only takes minutes and can greatly improve the performance of your application. Additionally, in 1.5, the coach view code has been repackaged into a JavaScript file cached on the client. The result is a much smaller page size and additional improvements to performance.
