Hello team;
I have a few questions/concerns on this new beta.
Q:RADDataForm:
a) Is this control based on SL DataForm or is it like GridView that was done from ground up?
b) Are the "new" Masked editors used in this DataForm?
c) What's the advantage of RADDataForm v.s. SL DataForm?
d) Does this control have design time editor for building forms?
e) Is there any docs or info on the features of this control?
f) If we are using WCF RIA services and the fields are created by RIA, and then we attach the returned collection to this control's ItemSource, How do we control the ORDER which field shows first and next and etc.?
g) Can we via VS or Blend editor, visually add controls (RADMaskedEditor, RADCombo, RADDatePicker and etc.) manually, so we can control the look and feel and the order?
h) From the sample, I didn't see any Display Attributes to be used for the Label of each field. And looks like it's using the Property name. Does this control take advantage of the Attributes if present?
Q:GroupBox or GroupPanel for Q1:
Is the GroupBox going to make it for Q1? I would like to use GB in thr RADDataForm to group related TextBoxes together, i.e. Adrress Group, Contact Group, Account Group.
I was told we should see it by this time.
Q: Can the spell checker work live?:
As user is typing in TextBox or RichEditor, and they having spelling error, will your system immediately draw a red line to notify them of the typo? if not, mostly people will not manually select/press a button to check for their spelling. This is very important since everyone is used to it from websites and MS Word.
Q/concern: Mask Editor:
As I played with the Mask Editor (ME), in particular for entering currency, it looks very tedious to use for end user and requires lots of keystrokes and deleting extra 0 to get the right amount (if filled zero is ON). This will lead to more errors than as none masked.
For example if the masked was set as 9.2 (like in demo) and I want to enter $140 amount, I have to enter 140 and hit Delete key 8 times to get ride of all the extra zeros.
If I hit the X first and clear the field first and then enter 140 and press 4 tabs, I end up with $140,000,000 or 140,___,___,___.__
The maskedit should work just like a calculator. Users will complain with it's complexity and extra key stroke to get a number in.
I can see in cases like entering serial numbers to be this way, but for operator to enter $140, should be a matter or entering 140 plus Tab key.
On the Masked Date Input, I entered 0412199 (April 12th 1999) and the value returned was 12/4/1999.
Please take a look at these:
http://labs.infragistics.com/silverlight/lobsamples/2010.3/#/Samples/Editors/XWMaskedEditor/InputMask
http://live.clientui.com/#/UXInput/UXCurrencyEditor
http://live.clientui.com/#/UXInput/UXMaskedInput
As you can see the UX is much more fluid and natural.
I'm concern of this new masked editor to be user unfriendly.
Looking forward to using these new controls.
Thanks!
..Ben
I have a few questions/concerns on this new beta.
Q:RADDataForm:
a) Is this control based on SL DataForm or is it like GridView that was done from ground up?
b) Are the "new" Masked editors used in this DataForm?
c) What's the advantage of RADDataForm v.s. SL DataForm?
d) Does this control have design time editor for building forms?
e) Is there any docs or info on the features of this control?
f) If we are using WCF RIA services and the fields are created by RIA, and then we attach the returned collection to this control's ItemSource, How do we control the ORDER which field shows first and next and etc.?
g) Can we via VS or Blend editor, visually add controls (RADMaskedEditor, RADCombo, RADDatePicker and etc.) manually, so we can control the look and feel and the order?
h) From the sample, I didn't see any Display Attributes to be used for the Label of each field. And looks like it's using the Property name. Does this control take advantage of the Attributes if present?
Q:GroupBox or GroupPanel for Q1:
Is the GroupBox going to make it for Q1? I would like to use GB in thr RADDataForm to group related TextBoxes together, i.e. Adrress Group, Contact Group, Account Group.
I was told we should see it by this time.
Q: Can the spell checker work live?:
As user is typing in TextBox or RichEditor, and they having spelling error, will your system immediately draw a red line to notify them of the typo? if not, mostly people will not manually select/press a button to check for their spelling. This is very important since everyone is used to it from websites and MS Word.
Q/concern: Mask Editor:
As I played with the Mask Editor (ME), in particular for entering currency, it looks very tedious to use for end user and requires lots of keystrokes and deleting extra 0 to get the right amount (if filled zero is ON). This will lead to more errors than as none masked.
For example if the masked was set as 9.2 (like in demo) and I want to enter $140 amount, I have to enter 140 and hit Delete key 8 times to get ride of all the extra zeros.
If I hit the X first and clear the field first and then enter 140 and press 4 tabs, I end up with $140,000,000 or 140,___,___,___.__
The maskedit should work just like a calculator. Users will complain with it's complexity and extra key stroke to get a number in.
I can see in cases like entering serial numbers to be this way, but for operator to enter $140, should be a matter or entering 140 plus Tab key.
On the Masked Date Input, I entered 0412199 (April 12th 1999) and the value returned was 12/4/1999.
Please take a look at these:
http://labs.infragistics.com/silverlight/lobsamples/2010.3/#/Samples/Editors/XWMaskedEditor/InputMask
http://live.clientui.com/#/UXInput/UXCurrencyEditor
http://live.clientui.com/#/UXInput/UXMaskedInput
As you can see the UX is much more fluid and natural.
I'm concern of this new masked editor to be user unfriendly.
Looking forward to using these new controls.
Thanks!
..Ben
2 Answers, 1 is accepted
0
Accepted
Hi Ben Hayat,
Regarding RadDataForm :
Although we are aiming to cover the feature set of the MS DataForm and keep compliant with its API , it is not based on the MS control.
For the initial version RadDataForm offers 4 types of integrated fields - text, checkbox, datetime and combo. In addition using the provided template properties , any kind of editor may be included. In the future we are planning to extend the supported count and types of editors.Design time support is definitely in the roadmap. Currently it has just some basic support for the VS designer and Blend. Still we have some way to go in this direction. RadDataForm will show the items in the order they are present in the source collection. The look and feel of the control is highly customizable , by setting the set of templates: ReadOnlyTemplate, EditTemplate and NewItemTemplate. DataAnnotations including Display attribute will be fully supported , however most of this support did not make it into the beta. I believe it will be gradually complemented and till the Q1 SP1 we will have a complete support for DataAnnotations attributes. Another thing we lack yet is documentation and samples . We still have some way to go with RadDataForm so please consider this beta just as the start of a control which will constantly improved.
Regarding the SpellChecker: We do not plan to add this "highlighting as you type" feature for now as it is technically very challenging. Rather, we would recommend customers to use Spellchecker as in validation scenario. This way users will always be informed if there are any syntax error after they finish editing. We have done this automatically in grid scenarios, as visible in the examples.
Regarding the MaskedInput controls: The numeric editors are right aligned by default. This means that the digits are entered from the right part of the editor. What you are describing, sounds like you were trying to input 140 from the left side, which results in 140 billion rather than 140. If you place the caret next to the decimal point and hit 1, 4 and 0, you would get 140. The characters will be automatically shifted to the left as you type in the next number. This is what would happen in the editors from the posted links.
Regarding the date time input:The format (mask if it represents a date time pattern) depends on the culture that you have specified or the culture of the environment that you are using. It could be that you are using a culture that has month and day sections reversed.
P.S In case you have additional questions , regarding specific control , please post it in the dedicated section of the forum. This would both ensure a faster and proper response, and also will allow other users to benefit from the info.
Regards,
Pavel Pavlov
the Telerik team
Regarding RadDataForm :
Although we are aiming to cover the feature set of the MS DataForm and keep compliant with its API , it is not based on the MS control.
For the initial version RadDataForm offers 4 types of integrated fields - text, checkbox, datetime and combo. In addition using the provided template properties , any kind of editor may be included. In the future we are planning to extend the supported count and types of editors.Design time support is definitely in the roadmap. Currently it has just some basic support for the VS designer and Blend. Still we have some way to go in this direction. RadDataForm will show the items in the order they are present in the source collection. The look and feel of the control is highly customizable , by setting the set of templates: ReadOnlyTemplate, EditTemplate and NewItemTemplate. DataAnnotations including Display attribute will be fully supported , however most of this support did not make it into the beta. I believe it will be gradually complemented and till the Q1 SP1 we will have a complete support for DataAnnotations attributes. Another thing we lack yet is documentation and samples . We still have some way to go with RadDataForm so please consider this beta just as the start of a control which will constantly improved.
Regarding the SpellChecker: We do not plan to add this "highlighting as you type" feature for now as it is technically very challenging. Rather, we would recommend customers to use Spellchecker as in validation scenario. This way users will always be informed if there are any syntax error after they finish editing. We have done this automatically in grid scenarios, as visible in the examples.
Regarding the MaskedInput controls: The numeric editors are right aligned by default. This means that the digits are entered from the right part of the editor. What you are describing, sounds like you were trying to input 140 from the left side, which results in 140 billion rather than 140. If you place the caret next to the decimal point and hit 1, 4 and 0, you would get 140. The characters will be automatically shifted to the left as you type in the next number. This is what would happen in the editors from the posted links.
Regarding the date time input:The format (mask if it represents a date time pattern) depends on the culture that you have specified or the culture of the environment that you are using. It could be that you are using a culture that has month and day sections reversed.
P.S In case you have additional questions , regarding specific control , please post it in the dedicated section of the forum. This would both ensure a faster and proper response, and also will allow other users to benefit from the info.
Regards,
Pavel Pavlov
the Telerik team
Registration for Q1 2011 What’s New Webinar Week is now open. Mark your calendar for the week starting March 21st and book your seat for a walk through all the exciting stuff we ship with the new release!
0
Ben Hayat
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answered on 01 Mar 2011, 02:45 PM
Thank you Pavel for covering all the details, in particular on RadDataForm.
For further discussion on MaskedEditor, I'll post my questions in that section.
..Ben
For further discussion on MaskedEditor, I'll post my questions in that section.
..Ben