Things Developers Should Just Do: Part 2
Things Developers Should Just Do: Part 2
Without being asked and without the need for Jira Issues
July 22, 2020
So you want to give the user a list of data objects/rows on a grid. There may be more to that than meets the eye. How many times have you used an application that presented you with a list but didn’t tell you how many rows there were? It’s maddening to not know, at a glance, how many rows there are.
Let’s take a quick look at some data list presentation techniques that will please your clients and make you a hero.
Data Tables and Lists:
How many rows are there anyway? Always show the row count for the entire list. There is a big difference between knowing you have 100 items or 10,000. I personally like seeing the row count at the top left or bottom left of the list.
Filters: Filters are super useful when there is a finite number of different types of objects such as Active / Inactive. You can use a simple gear icon at the top right of your grid with a short dropdown of options.
Search: Another must have! Let me find something on the list quickly by giving me a free form search field. And put that little ‘x’ on the right side of the field so I can quickly remove my search phrase when done searching.
Advanced Search: Now this one may take some additional thinking, but if you have ever used an online banking site and go to your checking account transactions list you know what I’m talking about.
Sort by column headers: These days sort libraries come right out of the box. No reason not to use them. It’s super nice to be able to sort the list by any column by clicking a small icon in the column header. Always change the sort icon in some fashion to let the user know at a glance that the list is sorted by this column.
Pagination: When lists get long, use pagination. Always show the current page you are on and the total number of pages, like: Page 3 of 999. If you want to get fancy, allow the user to select how many rows to show per page. Also, allow the user to go directly to the first page, last page or any page in between.
These are just a few must haves. There are more cool things you can “just do” to please your client. I’d be glad to hear your ideas on what other things programmers can do to make list viewing and navigation “almost” fun.