fPanels is a way of providing end users with presentations of multiple sets of information in a format that they can control and tailor to their needs. The data shown is gathered using the fSeries data gathering tools that are also used for fDocs document generation. fPanels can also include external script or frames containing external web sites.
Data is gathered for fPanels using fSeries data set definitions (DSDs). A presentation of panels can include data from one primary DSD together with data from other linked DSDs. Management of DSDs is dealt with in the fData documentation. Before using fPanels the designer will need to be familiar with fSeries and DSDs.
The administrator can define the data to be included and also specify the default content and layout. Users can then view the panels and edit the content and layout by dragging and dropping panels, hiding those not required and even changing the fields displayed and the order in which they are shown.
fPanels is a web-based application, access is via a URL.
Management of fPanels falls into three areas:
- Setting up the data definitions sets (DSDs).
- Designing the specific layout and content to be presented to users.
- User control of layout and content.
How It Works
fPanels is designed to display information on-screen, by gathering data using DSDs and presenting it in a number of panels in the form of tables. The content of each panel may be designed to suit the user’s needs.
A presentation may include data from more than one DSD and different panels may interact either by showing additional details on mouse roll-over of a row in one panel, or gathering more data when clicked on, for example, a row in a list. Each presentation has only one primary DSD but others may be accessed by, for example, clicking on a row of data in one panel to open data from another DSD.
From the fPanels launch screen, you can either open or start a new presentation.
