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Editable Grid Component
SAIL Design System guidance available for Grids

Grids should help your users take action and make decisions. Check out the grids design guidance page to learn how to display your data in a structured, easy-to-scan layout to help your users find what they need.

Function

a!gridLayout( label, instructions, headerCells, columnConfigs, rows, validations, validationGroup, selectable, selectionDisabled, selectionRequired, selectionValue, selectionSaveInto, addRowLink, totalCount, emptyGridMessage, helpTooltip, labelPosition, showWhen, shadeAlternateRows, spacing, height, borderStyle, selectionStyle, rowHeader, accessibilityText )

Displays a tabular layout of SAIL components to provide quick inline editing of fields. For an example of how to configure an editable grid, see the Add, Edit, and Remove Data in an Inline Editable Grid SAIL Recipe.

Parameters

Name Keyword Types Description

Label

label

Text

Text to display as the grid label.

Instructions

instructions

Text

Supplemental text about this grid.

Header Cells

headerCells

List of Variant

Array of column headers created with a!gridLayoutHeaderCell().

Column Configurations

columnConfigs

List of GridColumnConfiguration

Array of column configurations created with a!gridLayoutColumnConfig().

Rows

rows

List of Variant

Array of grid rows created with a!gridRowLayout().

Validations

validations

List of Variant

Validation errors to display below the grid.

Validation Group

validationGroup

Text

When present, the requiredness of the field is only evaluated when a button in the same validation group is pressed. The value for this parameter cannot contain spaces. For example, “validation group” is not a valid value. You need to add an underscore between words: “validation_group”. See the following recipes for more information:

Selectable

selectable

Boolean

Determines if the selection column is displayed. Default: false.

Selection disabled

selectionDisabled

Boolean

Determines if selection is disabled on all rows. Default: false.

Selection required

selectionRequired

Boolean

Determines if a selection is required to submit the form. Default: false.

Selection Value

selectionValue

List of Variant

Identifiers of selected rows.

Save Selection To

selectionSaveInto

List of Save

One or more variables that are updated with the selected identifiers when the user changes selections. Use a!save() to save a modified or alternative value to a variable.

Add Row Link

addRowLink

Any Type

Link for adding a row to the grid. Create link using a!dynamicLink().

Total Count

totalCount

Number (Integer)

Number of rows of data displayed in the grid.

Empty Grid Message

emptyGridMessage

Text

Text to display in the grid when no data is available. Default is "No items available".

Help Tooltip

helpTooltip

Text

Displays a help icon with the specified text as a tooltip. The tooltip displays a maximum of 500 characters. The help icon does not show when the label position is "COLLAPSED".

Label Position

labelPosition

Text

Determines where the label appears. Valid values:

  • "ABOVE" (default) Displays the label above the component.
  • "ADJACENT" Displays the label to the left of the component.
  • "COLLAPSED" Hides the label. The label will still be read by screen readers; see accessibility considerations for more information.
  • "JUSTIFIED" Aligns the label alongside the component starting at the edge of the page.

Visibility

showWhen

Boolean

Determines whether the component is displayed on the interface. When set to false, the component is hidden and is not evaluated. Default: true.

Shade alternate rows

shadeAlternateRows

Boolean

Determines whether alternate rows are shaded. Default: true.

Spacing

spacing

Text

Determines the spacing within grid cells. Valid values: "STANDARD" (web default), "DENSE" (mobile default).

Height

height

Text

Determines the height of the grid. Valid values: "SHORT", "SHORT_PLUS", "MEDIUM", "MEDIUM_PLUS", "TALL", "TALL_PLUS", "EXTRA_TALL", "AUTO" (default). All grid heights besides AUTO have fixed headers that will remain at the top of the grid when scrolling.

Border Style

borderStyle

Text

Determines the style of the grid border. Valid values: "STANDARD" (default), "LIGHT".

Selection Style

selectionStyle

Text

Determines the style when a row is selected. Valid values: "CHECKBOX" (default), "ROW_HIGHLIGHT".

Row Header

rowHeader

Number (Integer)

Index of the column to be used as the row header. Screen readers will announce the value in each row header when navigating to other cells within that row. Used only for accessibility; produces no visible change.

Accessibility Text

accessibilityText

Text

Additional text to be announced by screen readers. Used only for accessibility; produces no visible change.

Usage considerations

Performance and data

  • Performance is affected by the number of components in an interface. If your interface contains an editable grid with many cells, the interface may feel slow. See also: Interface Evaluation Lifecycle
  • When using a datasubset obtained using a!queryEntity() as the source of data for the editable grid, make sure to set its fetchTotalCount parameter to true. Otherwise, the totalCount field on the resulting datasubset may be invalid (i.e. set to -1). This is relevant for the totalCount parameter on the editable grid. See also: a!queryEntity() Function.

Component behavior in grid cells

  • When an interface component is placed into a grid cell, the following component configurations are ignored:
    • label
    • instructions
    • label position
  • Validation messages on the component within the grid cell are displayed when the component's value is not null.
  • The components placed within a grid cell can be different across the rows in one column.

Using images in editable grids

  • When placing an Image Field component inside an editable grid, there are some additional restrictions that do not apply when an image component is outside of a grid.
  • The image component behaves slightly differently when it is placed inside of a Grid Layout component than when it is outside of a Grid Layout.
    • Inside an editable grid, the image size FIT is not allowed.
    • Inside an editable grid, the default size for an image component is ICON. Other valid image sizes include SMALL, MEDIUM, and LARGE.
    • Inside an editable grid, you can only have 0 or 1 images in an image component. Multiple images in the same grid cell are not supported.
    • All image components in the same column must have the same size.
  • The Grid Text Column and Grid Image Column components cannot be used in an editable grid.

Grid height and headers

  • Grid heights behave as a fixed height on web but a maximum height on mobile.
  • Setting the height of the grid to SHORT, MEDIUM, or TALL will freeze the grid's header and footer. See the Short Editable Grid with Weighted Columns example below.
  • For accessibility purposes, every grid should have a row header configured. The first column containing text is usually the correct choice for row header. See the SAIL Design System for more information.

Examples

Copy and paste an example into an interface object in EXPRESSION MODE to see it displayed.

Editable grid with two rows

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a!localVariables(
  local!items: {
    {item: "Item 1", qty: 1, unitPrice: 10},
    {item: "Item 2", qty: 2, unitPrice: 20}
  },
  a!gridLayout(
    label: "Products",
    instructions: "Update the item name, quantity, or unit price.",
    headerCells: {
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Item"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Qty"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Unit Price"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Total", align: "RIGHT")
    },
    rows: {
      a!gridRowLayout(
        contents: {
          a!textField(
            value: local!items[1].item,
            saveInto: local!items[1].item
          ),
          a!integerField(
            value: local!items[1].qty,
            saveInto: local!items[1].qty
          ),
          a!floatingPointField(
            value: local!items[1].unitPrice,
            saveInto: local!items[1].unitPrice
          ),
          a!textField(
            value: a!currency(
              isoCode: "USD",
              value: tointeger(local!items[1].qty) * todecimal(local!items[1].unitPrice)
            ),
            readOnly: true,
            align: "RIGHT"
          )
        }
      ),
      a!gridRowLayout(
        contents: {
          a!textField(
            value: local!items[2].item,
            saveInto: local!items[2].item
          ),
          a!integerField(
            value: local!items[2].qty,
            saveInto: local!items[2].qty
          ),
          a!floatingPointField(
            value: local!items[2].unitPrice,
            saveInto: local!items[2].unitPrice
          ),
          a!textField(
            value: a!currency(
              isoCode: "USD",
              value: tointeger(local!items[2].qty) * todecimal(local!items[2].unitPrice)
            ),
            readOnly: true,
            align: "RIGHT"
          )
        }
      )
    },
    rowHeader: 1
  )
)

Displays the following:

gridLayout with two Rows

Editable grid with two rows using looping

See Add, Edit, and Remove Data in an Inline Editable Grid recipe for more help using a!forEach with the editable grid.

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a!localVariables(
  local!items: {
    {item: "Item 1", qty: 1, unitPrice: 10},
    {item: "Item 2", qty: 2, unitPrice: 20}
  },
  a!gridLayout(
    label: "Products",
    instructions: "Update the item name, quantity, or unit price.",
    headerCells: {
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Item"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Qty"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Unit Price"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Total", align: "RIGHT")
    },
    rows: a!forEach(
      items: local!items,
      expression: a!gridRowLayout(
        contents: {
          a!textField(
            value: fv!item.item,
            saveInto: fv!item.item
          ),
          a!integerField(
            value: fv!item.qty,
            saveInto: fv!item.qty
          ),
          a!floatingPointField(
            value: fv!item.unitPrice,
            saveInto: fv!item.unitPrice
          ),
          a!textField(
            value: a!currency(
              isoCode: "USD",
              value: tointeger(fv!item.qty) * todecimal(fv!item.unitPrice)
            ),
            readOnly: true,
            align: "RIGHT"
          )
        }
      )  
    ),
    rowHeader: 1
  )
)

Displays the following:

gridLayout with two Rows

Editable grid with validations

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a!localVariables(
  local!items: {
    {item: "Item 1", qty: 10, unitPrice: 10},
    {item: "Item 2", qty: 2,  unitPrice: 20}
  },
  a!gridLayout(
    label: "Products",
    instructions: "Update the item name, quantity, or unit price.",
    headerCells: {
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Item"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Qty"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Unit Price"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Total", align: "RIGHT")
    },
    rows: a!forEach(
      items: local!items,
      expression: a!gridRowLayout(
        contents: {
          a!textField(
            value: fv!item.item,
            saveInto: fv!item.item
          ),
          a!integerField(
            value: fv!item.qty,
            saveInto: fv!item.qty
          ),
          a!floatingPointField(
            value: fv!item.unitPrice,
            saveInto: fv!item.unitPrice
          ),
          a!textField(
            value: a!currency(
              isoCode: "USD",
              value: tointeger(fv!item.qty) * todecimal(fv!item.unitPrice)
            ),
            readOnly: true,
            align: "RIGHT"
          )
        }
      )  
    ),
    validations: {
      if(
        sum(tointeger(local!items.qty) * todecimal(local!items.unitPrice))>100,
        "Total must not exceed $100",
        null
      ),
      if(
        length(local!items)<3,
        a!validationMessage(
          message: "Enter at least 3 items",
        ),
        null
      )
    },
    rowHeader: 1
  )
)

Displays the following:

gridLayout with validation

Editable grid with selection

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a!localVariables(
  local!items: {
    {item: "Item 1", qty: 1, unitPrice: 10},
    {item: "Item 2", qty: 2, unitPrice: 20}
  },
  local!selected: tointeger({}),
  a!gridLayout(
    label: "Products",
    instructions: "Selected: " & local!selected,
    headerCells: {
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Item"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Qty"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Unit Price"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Total", align: "RIGHT")
    },
    rows: a!forEach(
      items: local!items,
      expression: a!gridRowLayout(
        id: fv!index,
        contents: {
          a!textField(
            value: fv!item.item,
            saveInto: fv!item.item
          ),
          a!integerField(
            value: fv!item.qty,
            saveInto: fv!item.qty
          ),
          a!floatingPointField(
            value: fv!item.unitPrice,
            saveInto: fv!item.unitPrice
          ),
          a!textField(
            value: a!currency(
              isoCode: "USD",
              value: tointeger(fv!item.qty) * todecimal(fv!item.unitPrice)
            ),
            readOnly: true,
            align: "RIGHT"
          )
        }
      )  
    ),
    selectable: true,
    selectionValue: local!selected,
    /* Flatten the selected values so the result is easier to work with */
    /* when the select/deselect all option is used in an editable grid  */
    selectionSaveInto: a!save(local!selected, a!flatten(save!value)),
    rowHeader: 1
  )
)

Displays the following:

gridLayout with selection

Editable grid with weighted columns

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a!localVariables(
  local!items: {
    {item: "Item 1", qty: 10, unitPrice: 10},
    {item: "Item 2", qty: 2,  unitPrice: 20}
  },
  a!gridLayout(
    label: "Products",
    instructions: "This is a grid layout with column weights: 5, 1, 1, 2",
    headerCells: {
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Item"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Qty"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Unit Price"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Total", align: "RIGHT")
    },
    columnConfigs: {
      a!gridLayoutColumnConfig(width: "DISTRIBUTE", weight: 5),
      a!gridLayoutColumnConfig(width: "DISTRIBUTE"),
      a!gridLayoutColumnConfig(width: "DISTRIBUTE"),
      a!gridLayoutColumnConfig(width: "DISTRIBUTE", weight: 2)
    },
    rows: a!forEach(
      items: local!items,
      expression: a!gridRowLayout(
        contents: {
          a!textField(
            value: fv!item.item,
            saveInto: fv!item.item
          ),
          a!integerField(
            value: fv!item.qty,
            saveInto: fv!item.qty
          ),
          a!floatingPointField(
            value: fv!item.unitPrice,
            saveInto: fv!item.unitPrice
          ),
          a!textField(
            value: a!currency(
              isoCode: "USD",
              value: tointeger(fv!item.qty) * todecimal(fv!item.unitPrice)
            ),
            readOnly: true,
            align: "RIGHT"
          )
        }
      )  
    ),
    rowHeader: 1
  )
)

Displays the following: gridLayout with weighted columns

Short editable grid with weighted columns

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a!localVariables(
  local!items: {
    {item: "Item 1", qty: 1, unitPrice: 10},
    {item: "Item 2", qty: 2, unitPrice: 20},
    {item: "Item 3", qty: 3, unitPrice: 30},
    {item: "Item 4", qty: 4, unitPrice: 40},
    {item: "Item 5", qty: 5, unitPrice: 50},
    {item: "Item 6", qty: 6, unitPrice: 60},
    {item: "Item 7", qty: 7, unitPrice: 70},
    {item: "Item 8", qty: 8, unitPrice: 80},
    {item: "Item 9", qty: 9, unitPrice: 90},
    {item: "Item 10", qty: 10, unitPrice: 100}
  },
  a!gridLayout(
    label: "Products",
    instructions: "Update the item name, quantity, or unit price.",
    headerCells: {
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Item"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Qty"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Unit Price"),
      a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Total", align: "RIGHT")
    },
    columnConfigs: {
      a!gridLayoutColumnConfig(width: "DISTRIBUTE", weight: 5),
      a!gridLayoutColumnConfig(width: "DISTRIBUTE"),
      a!gridLayoutColumnConfig(width: "DISTRIBUTE"),
      a!gridLayoutColumnConfig(width: "DISTRIBUTE", weight: 2)
    },
    rows: a!forEach(
      items: local!items,
      expression: a!gridRowLayout(
        contents: {
          a!textField(
            value: fv!item.item,
            saveInto: fv!item.item
          ),
          a!integerField(
            value: fv!item.qty,
            saveInto: fv!item.qty
          ),
          a!floatingPointField(
            value: fv!item.unitPrice,
            saveInto: fv!item.unitPrice
          ),
          a!textField(
            value: a!currency(
              isoCode: "USD",
              value: tointeger(fv!item.qty) * todecimal(fv!item.unitPrice)
            ),
            readOnly: true,
            align: "RIGHT"
          )
        }
      )  
    ),
    height: "SHORT",
    rowHeader: 1
  )
)

Displays the following:

gridLayout short

Feature compatibility

The table below lists this component's compatibility with various features in Appian.
Feature Compatibility Note
Portals Compatible
Offline Mobile Compatible
Sync-Time Custom Record Fields Incompatible
Real-Time Custom Record Fields Incompatible

Custom record fields that evaluate in real time must be configured using one or more Custom Field functions.
Process Reports Incompatible

Cannot be used to configure a process report.
Process Events Incompatible

Cannot be used to configure a process event node, such as a start event or timer event.

The following patterns include usage of the Editable Grid Component.

Editable Grid Component

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