1.4 - Windows - Custom Column View Window - View Items List
The View Items List is the large list at the bottom of the Custom Column View Window.
The number of columns in the View Items List (VIL), and their appearance, depends on the custom column view template (CCVT) which was used to create the Custom Column View Window.
So, for example, the picture below shows a View Items List (VIL) with six columns.
Those six columns are defined in the custom column view template (CCVT) named "organization names and addresses" which was used to create this Custom Column View Window (CCVW).
The View Items List (VIL)
If you want to examine the CCVT used to create this VIL, follow these steps:
1) Open the "AcmeTech.min" sample model.
You can use the "File Menu: Open Model" command to open the model.
The model is located at:
C:\Program Files\MindModel\Sample Models\AcmeTech.min
2) Use the "File Menu: Export Custom Column View Template to Excel" command to export the CCVT.
Let's take a look at each part of the View Items List (VIL).
1) View Items List Drop-Down Menu
Clicking the black triangle to the left of the words "View Items List" at the top left-hand corner of the View Items List displays the View Items List Drop-Down Menu.
The View Items List Drop-Down Menu
Clear the View Items List
The first command "Clear the View Items List", you guessed it, clears the View Items List.
Note that this command just empties the list. It does not delete any view items, nouns, or statements.
Print Mailing Labels Based on This View
The second command "Print Mailing Labels Based on This View" allows you to print customized mailing labels.
Each line in the mailing label is the same as one column in the current View Items List.
Remember that the contents of the View Items List are defined by a custom column view template (CCVT). So to define the contents of the mailing label, define a CCVT that contains one column for each line you want to see in the mailing label.
There are two other commands in MindModel that print mailing labels:
Reports Menu: Mailing Labels: Standard
Reports Menu: Mailing Labels: via XML Template
How do I choose which of the three mailing label commands to use?
If you want standard mailing labels (name, address 1, address 2, city, state, zip, country), use Reports Menu: Mailing Labels: Standard.
If you want custom mailing labels, and the labels are such that each line of the label contains one noun related to main noun (for example: job title is related to person), use this command (Print Mailing Labels Based on This View).
So, for example, you could have a mailing label that read:
John Doe
Accountant
101 Spring Lane
Springfield
Ohio
USA
using this command.
You might use these labels for something other than envelopes, such as video tapes, etc.
If you want a label that combines different elements on one line, but does not follow the standard mailing label format, use Reports Menu: Mailing Labels: via XML Template.
Using this command, you have a very wide range of options on how the mailing label will look.
What are those two items attached to the second menu item?
Those two items allow you to choose how many labels per column and row you want to print.
"3x7 per page" prints three labels across, and seven down the page.
"3x10 per page" prints three labels across, and ten down the page.
2) Column Headers
The column headers are the items at the top of the columns of the View Items List.
In the picture above, there are six column headers: Organization, Address 1, Address 2, City, State, Zip.
Clicking on a column header sorts the View Items List (VIL) by that column.
If the VIL is already sorted by that column, clicking on a column header sorts in the opposite order of the current sort by that column.
For example, in the picture at the top of this section, the VIL is already sorted in ascending order (A-Z) by the Organization column.
So clicking the "Organization" column header would sort the VIL in descending order (Z-A).
Clicking the "Organization" column header again would sort the VIL in ascending order (A-Z).
Remember that the original sort order of the columns in the VIL are specified by the custom column view template (CCVT) used to create the Custom Column View Window.
3) View Items
The view items are the items in the View Items List (VIL).
In the picture at the top of this section, the view items look like this:
Each view item represents a noun in the model.
The columns of the view items are defined by the custom column view template (CCVT) used to create the Custom Column View Window.
Selecting a View Item
Selecting a view item makes that view item the current view item.
The Noun Summary Window displays a summary of the noun associated with the current view item.
Power-User Tip: You can create a very powerful combination by selecting an XML Template in the Noun Summary Window while you have a Custom Column View Window (CCVW) open.
The CCVW shows columnar information. The Noun Summary Window can show more free-form data, such as lists of collections that the current noun belongs to, skills the current person has, etc. Experiment with different combinations of CCVT's and XML Templates to find the ones that work best for you.
Right-Clicking a View Item
Right-clicking a view item (clicking the right mouse button on a view item) displays a menu that looks like this:
The words "Acme Technology Corporation" will be replaced with the name of the current view item when you display the menu.
Choosing this menu item fills the Statements List of the Model Window with statements related to the noun associated with the view item.
This command saves you the time it would take to find the noun in the Model Window, then double click the noun to find statements related to it.
Double-Clicking a View Item
Double-clicking a view item allows you to edit that view item.
Double-clicking a view item has the same effect as selecting a view item, then clicking the "Edit" button in the View Item Commands.