Navigating Modes

By Miller Prosser, September 2015

There are two basic navigation modes: Tree and List. Toggle between modes by clicking the View Mode toggle button.

Tree Mode

Tree mode displays all available data categories. When expanded, a hierarchy displays all the next level items in that hierarchy. Items can be added, deleted, arranged, copied, or duplicated. Items from the Link Manager can be added into a given context as needed.

Tree mode is the suggested mode for users adding or editing data.

List Mode

When browsing and viewing data—and even when doing selective editing—List Mode provides a simple interface. In place of displaying items in hierarchical trees, list mode populates a series of contextual pick lists. Begin by selecting the ontological category. List Mode then populates the subsequent pick list with the next level items. Pick lists continue to populate until the end of the hierarchical branch is reached.

Any item long the path may be viewed and edited as usual. However, List Mode does not allow some of the more advanced editing and arranging allowed by Tree Mode. Unavailable edit actions are grayed out in the tool bar. Notice, for example, that there is only one type of action allowed for inserting items: Insert new item below. Keep in mind that inserting a new item below will add the new item below the final selection in the lowest pick list. If you wish to add the new item as a sibling to the lowest item, then the lowest pick list should display <Select an item>. The penultimate pick list should display the hierarchical category in which you wish to add the new item.

Using List Mode and View Mode together is a very simple and useful method for quickly browsing and viewing items. This combination of modes is particularly useful for newer project members who are neither familiar with the Tree Mode interface nor need to add or delete data.

The following combinations are particularly useful with List Mode.

*List Mode *View Mode *Display Format, Descendants tabbed

This combination of modes allows the user to navigate to a hierarchy and view its contents as a series of tabs for quick overview and navigation.

[img: a selection of tabs]


*List Mode *View Mode *Display Format, Descendants table

This combination allows the user to navigate to a hierarchy and view its contents as a spreadsheet-style table.

*List Mode *View Mode *Display Format, Styled

This combination presents the selected item formatted according to a user-provided XLST style sheet. This is particularly useful when viewing texts.

[link to the article on style sheets]