When setting up an analysis file, there are times when you want the consumer to be guided through the analysis
and not be distracted by the different pages available to click through. In version 4.0, this can be accomplished
by setting the Page Navigation mode to ‘None’.
Once you do this, you will then need to use an Action Control or Script Control to navigate between pages.
NOTE: Users inside Spotfire Professional can simply switch the Page Navigation mode, but consumers using
the Web Player will be forced to use the mode saved for the given Analysis file.
Below is an example of an Action Control being configured in a Text Area to go to the ‘Solutions 1’ page when it
is executed.
In addition to Action Controls, you can also use Script Controls to redirect users. You also have the ability with,
with Script Controls, to leverage the APIs to perform various tasks and do additional checks. For example, if your
workflow requires you to mark some data on the first page before proceeding, you can have the script check if
there is any data marked. If there is the user is navigated to the correct page and if there is not, you can output a
message via a Label Property Control to the user that they need to mark data to continue. Another possible
example using Script Controls for navigation could be that the script checks the value of a document property or
similar which is previously set, and based off that value, it navigates the user to the appropriate page. This will
allow the creation of branched analysis files which are less confusing for users to navigate.
In addition to Action Controls and Script Controls, the page navigation will also work from the ‘Actions’ capability
of a Graphical Table. We will discuss Actions in a Graphical Table in a future tip. Currently, Actions are only
supported inside the Graphical Table and not other Visualizations.
Another related new feature in version 4.0 is the concept of historical navigation. This is a method using back and
forward arrows, available on the navigation toolbar, to go back to previous pages to support exploration.
The navigation is specific to the user logged in and the history only is valid for the user’s session. To start with
the back and forward arrow buttons are disabled when the analysis is first loaded.
As the user traverses the Analysis file, the back and forward buttons become enabled.
In 4.0 the historical navigation buttons exist as a separate navigation mode that is always enabled in addition to
one of the other navigation modes (Tiled, Step-by-Step, or None). If an author wants to setup a purely historical
navigation mode, then they should set the Page navigation option to None.
