NOTE: In order for web part connections to function, Allow Complex Filter must be enabled (see Admin: Filtering Tab).
Connectability is a standard protocol that is supported within a SharePoint environment. CorasWorks navigation and roll-up components can utilize the connectability interface so CorasWorks web parts can “talk” to one another and one web part can receive information from another web part. This information can be used to alter the data displayed within the current web part.
You can only activate a connection when the page is in Design mode. Once in Design mode, access the web part menu and select Connections. Then specify the type of connection you want and the web part you want to connect to.
The three currently supported types of connections are List Consumer, Row Consumer, and Cell Consumer.
This type of connection allows you to “consume” a list of URLS from the Workplace View Advanced (WVA). This allows you to set up your site information within one web part and have its setting reflect within this web part. This type of connection does not accept information from any other web part.
For example, imagine that there are multiple roll-up views on a page. All of these roll-ups can be connected to the WVA. When you change the sites and lists in the WVA, the roll-ups will update to show the information selected. This reduces the time to reconfigure individual web parts and ensures that they all have the correct configuration.
This type of connection allows you to consume a row of information from within another web part. The connection filters against each column displayed in the other web part.
The Row Filter performs a filter on the titles of the rows collected form the other web part. This means that if the other web part display includes Title and Due Date, your current list to be collected must also contain the same row titles in order for the filter to function.
Row consumer connections that include fields with calculated values are not supported.
This type of connection allows you to consume a specific cell from within another web part. After a connection has been established, you will be asked what cell you would like to read from the other web part. After you have chosen a specific field (cell), the title of the column from the other web part will be used to filter against by default. If you want to filter on a different cell within your returned data, you can specify this within the Connectable Properties section of the web part properties.
Cell consumer connections that include calculated values are not supported.
As an example, imagine that you want to provide a salesperson with information about a customer. You may want to create a page that has contact information about the customer, order information, call history, and support calls. Using connectability, you can connect the web parts so that when you select a customer, the other views for orders, call history, and support calls will automatically update to display that customer’s information.
Because CorasWorks roll-ups can show information from any sites or portal sub-areas, the data, such as the call history list or the support calls, can be stored in different sites, such as departmental sites. With connectability, you can simply select a customer and all of the information for that customer is displayed. This type of scenario would also apply, for instance, in situations where you want to see information about projects which are stored in sites for different departments. The key is that each list has to have a field with the exact same name and the same data type, such as Customer ID or Project ID.