Shaping and Manipulating Data

The ExpressQuantumGrid Suite offers you a rich and comprehensive arsenal of data visualization features - be it data grouping, sorting, summaries, or filtering. Among the many things that set the ExpressQuantumGrid apart from all its competitors is its unrivaled speed when performing these highly critical application functions. The secret to its performance efficiency lies within the engine that powers it - the ExpressDataController, which is second to none. The main hallmarks of the ExpressDataController are the blazing speed at which it is able to parse data; ultra compact data structure; and its storage of data in native formats, removing the need for costly data conversions.

In addition to the lightning fast performance of the ExpressQuantumGrid, you will be amazed to learn that it provides plenty of data analysis features which take full advantage of the available speed. Whether you need data filtering, summary calculations, data grouping, or multi-column sorting, with the ExpressQuantumGrid you can be confident that your applications will give ultra fast feedback to end-users. The most fascinating fact is that many of the data shaping capabilities we're about to describe are available to you via property settings - no need to write a single line of code!

Sorting

• Sorting Against an Unlimited Number of Fields
  The ExpressQuantumGrid allows programmatic or end-user sorting against an unlimited number of fields in ascending or descending order.
• Sorting by Cell Display Values
  Data can be sorted by a cell's display value rather than its actual value. This is extremely useful if you use in-place editors like the image combo box or lookup editors.
• Custom Sorting Algorithms
  You can implement custom sorting rules by handling a specially designed event.
• Automatic Row Focusing
  You can enable the automatic focus of the topmost row after each sorting operation. This simplifies navigation within the grid control when you must browse all the displayed rows from the very beginning.

Grouping

• Grouping Against an Unlimited Number of Columns
  (Banded) Table Views allow programmatic or end-user data grouping against an unlimited number of columns. Each grouped column can be sorted either in ascending or descending order.
• Grouping by Sorting Against a Column
  You can emulate the behavior of MS Outlook 2003, which implies that clicking a column header results in grouping data by the clicked column’s values.
• Improved Grouping by Date-Time Values
  Version 6 of the ExpressQuantumGrid provides new options when grouping data by date-time values. With them, you are able not only to specify time periods (such as hours, days, months, years, periods relative to today, etc.) by which data will be grouped but also properly format display values for the corresponding group rows. For more information, please refer to the Improved Date-Time Value Handling section of the What's New in v6 white paper.
• Grouping in Chart Views
  In Chart Views, series values are grouped into categories to represent data at a particular level of detail or data level. In the previous version of the ExpressQuantumGrid, there existed only a data level which represented a single value of a series per category. With version 6, you can create as many data levels as you require by creating data groups. Similar to groups in tabular Views, the values of a data group correspond to categories (groups) which series values are arranged into. You can group data within the same categories and display aggregate values at any level of detail. For more information, please refer to the A More Flexible Way to Analyze Data – Data Groups and Drill Down section of the What's New in v6 white paper.
• Automatic Group Expansion
  You can enable automatic expansion for all groups after each grouping operation.
• Maintain Expansion State After Performing Operations On Data
  If enabled, the ExpressQuantumGrid preserves the expansion state of groups after sorting, filtering and other operations against data contained within it.

Data Filtering

• MS Excel Style Filtering
  By filtering data end-users can instantaneously retrieve the information appropriate to their needs at any given point in time. To filter against a specific field within the ExpressQuantumGrid means to click the corresponding filter dropdown button and select the required criteria from the dropdown list. By default, this list contains all the field values plus several predefined criteria according to the field type. You can include custom criteria to the dropdown with ease.
  The ExpressQuantumGrid v6 offers new options when filtering data using filter dropdowns. Filter dropdowns can now be displayed as checklists and end-users are able to select and apply multiple filter values. These new options also allow you to include special time periods (such as days, months, years, periods relative to today, etc.) as filter values when filtering data by date-time values. One more useful capability allows you to shorten filter dropdown lists so that they display only those values that are currently available (that haven't been filtered out). For more information, please refer to the Filtering UI Innovations section of the What's New in v6 white paper.
• MS Excel Style Filter Dialogs
  To further narrow the resulting set of records, end-users can build custom criteria which can contain up to two simple filter conditions combined using the AND or OR logical operators.
• Customizable Filter Dialogs
  For those who want to go beyond one-step filtering, the ExpressQuantumGrid includes a customizable filter dialog, that allows end-users to build filter criteria of any complexity, with a simple yet elegant interface that puts the entire power of the filtering sub-system at their fingertips. Your end-users will not be frustrated anymore since constructing any filter criteria at runtime using the filter dialog is now definitely a piece of cake.
• Filter Panel
  The filter panel describes the currently applied filter condition (if any), it allows end-users to enable or disable the current filter and displays a filter history list so end-users don't have to construct the same filter criteria over and over again. By default, the filter panel is displayed at the View's bottom-most edge. Alternatively, it can be displayed under the column header panel.
• Filter Row
  The ExpressQuantumGrid v6 also allows end-users to apply a filter in the grid by entering filter values within a specially designed Filter Row. Please refer to the Filtering UI Innovations section of the What's New in v6 white paper for additional information.

Summary Computation

• Total Summaries
  You can calculate aggregate functions against all the values within a column and display the results inside a View's footer.
• Group Summaries (in group rows and group footers)
  Summaries can be calculated against column values within groups. In this instance, aggregate values can be displayed either within the group row or in the group footer under the specified column. By handling one event, you can even specify which groups should generate these calculations. With the ExpressQuantumGrid v6, you can display group row summaries under the corresponding columns and also control whether group footers for a particular column should be displayed when data is grouped by this column (i.e. the column is a grouping column). Please refer to the Table View and Banded Table View Features section of the What's New in v6 white paper for details on this capability.
• Five Built-in Functions
  The ExpressQuantumGrid offers 5 built-in aggregate functions - record count, sum, average, maximum and minimum values. End-users can calculate any of these summaries at runtime by using the appropriate View Footer context menu item.
• Custom Aggregate Functions
  You can provide any logic to calculate summary values via event handlers.
• Summary Computations Against Selected Rows Only
  If enabled, summaries can be calculated only against selected rows. This is extremely useful when your end-users need to gather statistics on a portion of the data displayed in the View.