This is an admittedly goofy post, but maybe it points some folks in the right direction. One question that comes up is around how can you better manage a large lookup list in Datazen. Currently, the product doesn’t allow search functionality in the dropdown list. There is a way to work around this, however. Previously, I posted about how to set default selection values in Datazen dashboards viewed in a browser. The next logical step here would be to build a custom app and pass the values to that url. I did just that, and I built the app in Silverlight!
Why did I do it in Silverlight? Well, I figured for Throwback Thursday (and because it’s admittedly a hacky solution) I’d kick it old school and build a C# LightSwitch app. And since I realize most folks aren’t looking to do Silverlight development these days, I won’t bore you with the normal code review and walkthrough. Instead, I decided to post the app I threw together up in Azure so you can play around with it and see if inspires you (or makes you smile. or weep). Here’s what you do to give it a whirl –
1. Go to https://datazentbtapp.azurewebsites.net/desktopclient where you’ll be prompted to install the app locally on your machine. There’s no security on it or anything (and I didn’t bother signing the .xap file).
2. You’ll see the little DatazenTBTApp logo on your desktop if you choose that option. Double-click on it to open the desktop app.
3. The app will open and you’ll see the only screen in the app –
4. The dropdown list on the left contains over 2500 records to choose from, so it’s not something you can easily scroll through. No problem – just type the first few letters in the auto-complete combobox in the app. You’ll jump to the results that match what you’re typing. I’ll start by typing “MGS” – I quickly jump to the matching results that start with MGS, and my dashboard updates automatically to give me the proper result –
That’s basically it – feel free to try typing in some different letters/words (obviously Fabrikam and Contoso are well represented in this product list), watch your dashboard update, and relive the magical year of 2010!
(And yes, I might do one in HTML5/JavaScript in a follow-up post sometime.)
Christopher Finlan 