Documentation for RchWidgets

Iain -

Have you gone through the training in Academy? A lot of the stuff in Rich Widgets is explained there.

J.Ja

Hi Justin, yeah I've gone through them, and get the basic idea of them. It's more that there's no reference info that I can find. In the help system, there's a write-up for every built-in function, and every property on the built-in widgets, but the RichWidgets items are not mentioned. There are loads of different RichWidget items with properties and related actions, but no definitive explanation of any of them - it seems to be a case of trial and error, as if they aren't a properly supported part of the system.

Hi Iain,

Since richwidgets are now instantiated automatically with IntelliWarp we started including the documentation in the descriptions of the objects and parameters. If you want to see some examples you can eventually download an old version of the StyleGuide where you'll find those. Just don't publish it, as the version you have installed should be more recent.

Cheers,
Tiago Simões

Hi Tiago, thanks for the reply - I wasn't sure what you meant by "we started including the documentation in the descriptions of the objects and parameters" - where would I find that documentation? Thanks!

Iain -

That means that it's right there in Service Studio. When you look at the list of objects, they will have descriptions telling you want they do, and hovering the mouse over a property name will give details.

J.Ja

Hi Iain,

You can find the descriptions in the richwidgets elements and parameters in the RichWidgets web flow. You can also check the link I have posted earlier on how to download the old version of the style guide where you can find sample usages of these widgets.







Cheers,
Tiago Simões

Thanks Justin and Tiago for pointing that out, that helps. However, I personally feel that there should be more documentation to support these. As you'll see from the link below to another topic, I've been stuck with the Auto Complete item because Intelliwarp won't create it where I need it, but there's no clear instructions I can find on how to set up an auto-complete.

http://www.outsystems.com/NetworkForums/ViewTopic.aspx?TopicId=8969&Topic=Can%27t-always-change-a-combo-to-an-auto-complete

Maybe it's just me, but I'd definitely vote for more explanation of each item.

Iain - I agree completely. Rich Widgets *has* had a lack of documentation. The situation has gotten better over time, but since it is such a key part of the platform, I'd say it should be documented like the core components.

My suggestion is to put an item in "Wisdom of the Crowds" for this; OutSystems has been good about taking those items into consideration. I know that a fair number of items I have put in there have shipped in the product!

J.Ja

Fair point, I've added it at http://www.outsystems.com/wisdomofthecrowds/IdeaComment_List.aspx?IdeaId=1140

Cheers