easy double-click to edit related-list VF page

Often enough I am asked to make a custom VisualForce of a related list that is editable in a similar way to salesforce's native double click to edit. I have made them in a variety of ways, including adding images like salesforce's to indicate if a field is editable or locked etc. and some simpler ways like the one I am going to do now.

The Problem:
a sObject under Account(or any other obj) needs show on the Account page layout, but it also needs to be double-click to edit to make it easy for the reps to update key information on the fly without having to click into each sObject. (for this example we will use the Contact obj)


Setup:
First we need to create a controller extension so that it can sit in the page layout of the Account obj, and even though we are showing the contact obj, the extension needs to point to account otherwise it wont show up as an available VisualForce page to add on the layout.

ContactInLineEdit.cls

ContactInLineEdit.page

This is a standard controller extension setup, this allows the class to use the account id referenced in the URL when the page is accessed. Example page URL will be 'apex/ContactInLineEdit?id={!account.id}'

Now we should add the Contact list to the class so we can access it on the page in a apex:repeat, when we add it to the class, we only need to get the list on load of the page, and then again when we update the fields.

ContactInLineEdit.cls

On the page we will need to add the apex:form tag, along with an apex:outputpanel with an id so we can call it later in a rerender attribute on the update call. We will also add the CSS and jQuery files that will help us control the double-click to edit functionality. We then place the jQuery inside the outputpanel so when it rerenders it can reapply the jQuery to the page. I also prefer to use the jQuery.noConflict(); since I often run into issues with salesforce's JS conflicting with what I am trying to implement.

ContactInLineEdit.page

Now we need to add the apex:pagemessages so we can do error handling and we need to add the table for the apex:repeat to sit in. We will also add the apex:outputfiled's that will display in the related list on the page, we need to make sure that any field we reference here is also in the select query on the class.

ContactInLineEdit.page

Lets add in the loading icon for the update and a JS function to control it, and we should also add the edit fields to the table. To help control the conditional hiding and showing of the fields for the edit, we should add some div's with classes to reference in jQuery.

ContactInLineEdit.page

ContactInLineEdit.page

Lets add the double click functionality, first we need to add a class to the edit text in the action column  <span class="editLink">Edit</span> then we need to add a function so that everytime the nonEdit field (outputField) is double-clicked it will hide the outputField and show the inputField. We will also change the Edit text to Cancel and add a class to it so we know that row is in edit mode.

Now lets add the edit row/cancel row edits functionality, this will allow all editable fields in the row to be edited and if cancel is hit, it will undo all edits by retrieving the text from the hidden outputfield otherwise it will continue to show the updated text since we are just hiding and showing. We don't want to clear the fields cause that will potentially clear out the saved info if it gets saved by mistake. So by retrieving the info from the outputfield, we are able to set it back to what it was originally.

ContactInLineEdit.page

We will also need to update our edit action to use the new function, it will now look like this: <span class="editLink" onclick="EditMe(jQuery(this));">Edit</span>
At this point we need to make the update method and add it to the page, this will allow any edits made by the user to be saved, and then the list will rerender with the new information.

ContactInLineEdit.cls

ContactInLineEdit.page

And that it, simple. I didn't add it here, but field validation could be added to ensure its a proper email or phone number etc. In the style i made so that fields that were editable when the mouse hovered over it, the cursor would change to a pointer like it would when the mouse hovers over a link. This way the user knows the field is editable instead of having to add an image that could bog down the page load.

Questions?  

Twitter: @SalesForceGirl  or Facebook

What makes Elegant Code?

One of the things i love about programming is that there is always several different ways to accomplish a task. If you gave 10 programmers the same task, each would go about it in there own way, sure the result would be the same but the code will be completely unique.

I find that when i look at other programmers code, its almost like looking at an artist work, not to say that the code is a work of art, just unique and sometimes beautiful. Every programmer has there own way of doing things, tendencies that all make up the big picture of the code. The naming convention used, structure of the methods and even the way they went about accomplishing the task. It all contributes to the look and feel of the code. It also can show the skill of the programmer or artist, or lack there of. 

Code should be simplistic, elegant, beautiful. It should also be structured, and still 'flow' like a picture. So many times i look at code and often think of spaghetti, and cringe at the over complication of something that should only be one or two lines and not ten. And please don't get me wrong, i am always trying to learn new ways to improve my code, trying to find smarter ways to go about a problem, keeping an open mind to new ideas and concepts.

An example of what i mean, below is two lines, both of the same SOQL statement, both get the job done. But one, while not wrong, also isn't quite right.

Contact[] objContact = [select id, name from Contact where email ='someemail@email.com' limit 1];

Contact objContact = [select id, name from Contact where email = :sInEmail limit 1];

In the first SOQL statement, it is creating a list of Contacts even though the query is only returning one. It also has a 'hard-coded' variable which is never a good practice.  In the second, since we are only querying for one obj, it only creates a single object, also it uses a variable instead of string text. 

Now i know what you may be thinking, does that really make a difference in the elegance of the code? Yes. If we left it as the first statement, where it is returning a List of objs instead of a single obj, and all the proceeding methods would then have to accommodate for it, even thought it isn't necessary. Its like adding lines and logic that only complicate and so the code tends to look messy or clustered when it doesn't need to be. Keeping code simplistic is key. As a rule of thumb, I try to keep my methods under 10 lines total, and that includes all the curly brackets.

Here is another example of doing things different ways while still accomplishing the same task:

      public string mystring;

      public string getMystring()

      {

            return mystring;

      }

      public void setMyString(string s)

      {

            this.s = mystring;

      }

vs

          public string sInStringName{get;set;}

I hope I don't need to explain why the second is cleaner, but if you notice i use the variable name of 'sInStringName' instead of 'mystring', i do this for most variable's: 'lst' for list, 'obj' for sObjects, etc. this helps me identify what it is, along with what type. So if i am looking for a string, i know it will start with 's'. I also like to follow the camel hump approach where the first word in the name is lowercase and all words after have the first letter capitalized. When it comes to booleans i am still trying to decide if i like 'b' as in 'bInBoolean' or 'is' since it is a true false statement, which would look like 'isBoolean'. Its important that no matter what naming convention you choose, that you stick with it, for the whole project, if you don't like it, try tweaking it in the next project.

Questions? 

Twitter: @SalesForceGirl  or Facebook

Google User Org-Chart with Salesforce

Cloudspokes.com had a challenge to incorporate Google's user hierarchy chart in Salesforce on the user object. And even though I didn't win (totally should have lol) I thought I would share my version of the challenge.  

http://sfg-demo-developer-edition.na9.force.com/demo/sfgUserOrgChart 


Download all files

In mine, the Hierarchy chart is based off of the Manager Id of each User, instead of going into Roles and all that mess. But when I set it up for all users, THe chart produced was very long and made the page scroll, to fix that issue, I made it so it grouped by department, and by default show the current User's Department. Then I added a fixed width on the page so it wouldn't scroll, except inside the frame, and if the department drop-down is on the page it would always show on top right regardless of how long the chart is that gets created. Since not all managers where in the same department as their subordinates, I had to re-query for any managers that weren't in the list the of the users returned, other wise it showed as only an ID above the user, which looked bad lol.

I have set the page up to take a few different params(see below) which control options for the page, including hiding/showing a User table, a select list for departments, and the hiding/showing of the sidebar and header. 

Additional options lie in the JavaScript, there you have the ability to allow people to click on a user and see additional info on them(works/looks really good on iPad). Or control the Google chart options like allow HTML and the collapse feature. To see the  'onclick additional info' in action simply click once on a users name and it will pop up with a small modal of that info.

When trying to make this work, i found that apex and Google do not play nice, especially with re-render, so i had to make a lot of custom JavaScript to make it all work correctly, and i could not use Apex:output or have the JS in the re-render, otherwise it would spit out all the code to the page on re-render. 

Here is the JS

/*SALESFORCEGIRL ORGCHAT 2011*/

/*CONTROLS THE LOADING GIF*/
function Loading(b){
     if(b){
          $('.loadingIcon').removeClass('hideIt');
     }else{
          $('.loadingIcon').addClass('hideIt');
     }
}
/*PUTS THE USER LIST IN THE RIGHT FORMAT WITH OPTIONS FOR GOOGLE TO READ*/
function getUserList(userOptions, CurrentUserId, dptLabel,phLabel,rxtLabel,emLabel) {
     var users = [];
     var UserString = '';
     var uId = '';
     var uName = '';
     var uManId = '';
     var uDept = '';
     var uPhone = '';
     var uExt = '';
     var uEmail = '';                 
     $('#hiddenUserData tr.dataRow').each(function(){
          uId = $(this).find('td:eq(0)').text();
          uManId = $(this).find('td:eq(1)').text();
          uName = $(this).find('td:eq(2)').text();
          uDept = $(this).find('td:eq(3)').text();
          uPhone = $(this).find('td:eq(4)').text();
          uExt = $(this).find('td:eq(5)').text();
          uEmail = $(this).find('td:eq(6)').text();
      
          UserString = '<div class="UserInfo" onClick="ShowMoreInfo(this)">'+uName+'<br /><div class="Title" >'+uDept+'</div><br />';
      
          if (userOptions.showInfo.department || userOptions.showInfo.phone || userOptions.showInfo.ext || userOptions.showInfo.email) {
               UserString += '<div title="Click to hide" class="additionalInfo hideMe"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2">';
           
               UserString += '<div class="HeaderTitle">'+uName+'</div></td></tr>';
           
               if (userOptions.showInfo.department) {
                    UserString += '<tr><th>'+dptLabel+'</th><td>'+uDept+'</td></tr>';
               }
           
               if (userOptions.showInfo.phone) {
                    UserString += '<tr><th>'+phLabel+'</th><td>'+uPhone+'</td></tr>';
               }
           
               if (userOptions.showInfo.ext) {
                    UserString += '<tr><th>'+rxtLabel+'</th><td>'+uExt+'</td></tr>';
               }
           
               if (userOptions.showInfo.email) {
                    UserString += '<tr><th>'+emLabel+'</th><td>'+uEmail+'</td></tr>';
               }
           
               UserString += '</tbody></table></div>';
          }
          UserString += '</div>';
 
          users.push([{v: uId, f: UserString}, uManId, 'Click for additional info']);
     });                     
     return users;
}
/*USED TO TRIGGER THE ADDITIONAL INFO POP UP */
function Loading(b){
     if(b){
          $('.loadingIcon').removeClass('hideIt');
     }else{
          $('.loadingIcon').addClass('hideIt');
     }
}
/*USED TO SHOW MORE INFO IF USER IS CLICKED*/
function ShowMoreInfo(t){
     var item = $(t).find('.additionalInfo');
     if($(item).hasClass('hideMe')){
          $('.additionalInfo').addClass('hideMe');
          $(item).removeClass('hideMe');
     }else{
          $(item).addClass('hideMe');
     }
}
/*SETTING UP THE GOOGLE CHART*/
function initializeOrgChart(){
     google.load('visualization', '1', {packages:['orgchart']});
}
/*SETTING UP THE GOOGLE CHART*/
function getUserDataTable(userList){
     var dt = new google.visualization.DataTable();
       dt.addColumn('string', 'Name');
       dt.addColumn('string', 'Manager');
       dt.addColumn('string', 'ToolTip');
       dt.addRows(userList);
       return dt;
}
/*SETTING UP THE GOOGLE CHART*/
function getOrgChart(container,options,data){
     var chart = new google.visualization.OrgChart(container);
       chart.draw(data, options);
     return chart;
}
/*SETTING UP THE GOOGLE CHART*/
function drawOrgChart(container,options) {         
     /* DEFAULT OPTIONS STRUCTURE.
     var options = {
          users: null,                    
          chartOptions: {
               allowHtml: true,
               allowCollapse:true
          }
     };*/
       var data  = getUserDataTable(options.users);
       var chart = getOrgChart(container,options.chartOptions,data);
}

Then on the page:

<apex:page controller="sfgOrgChart" title="Org Chart" showHeader="{!bShowHeader}" sidebar="{!bShowSidebar}" standardstylesheets="false" action="{!SwitchList}">
<html>
    <head>
        <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=EmulateIE8" />
        <apex:stylesheet value="{!URLFOR($Resource.OrgChart, '/style.css')}"/>
       
        <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="{!URLFOR($Resource.OrgChart, '/js/jquery-1.4.2.min.js')}" ></script>
        <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="{!URLFOR($Resource.OrgChart, '/js/jquery.tablesorter.min.js')}" ></script>
        <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="{!URLFOR($Resource.OrgChart, '/js/sfgOrgChart.js')}" ></script>
        <script type='text/javascript' src='https://www.google.com/jsapi'></script>
    </head>
    <body>
        <apex:form id="form">
            <apex:outputpanel id="pageWrap">
                <apex:outputpanel id="ChooseDepartmentWrap" rendered="{!bShowDepartmentselectList}">
                    <div class="clear"></div>
                    <br />
                    <div class="floatL">
                        <apex:outputpanel rendered="{!NOT(ISBLANK(sDepartment))}">
                            <div class="HeaderTitle">Viewing Department:&nbsp;<apex:outputtext value="{!IF(bIsDept,sDepartment,'All Departments')}" /></div>
                        </apex:outputpanel>
                    </div>
                    <div class="floatR">
                        <apex:outputpanel rendered="{!bShowDepartmentSelectList}">
                            <strong>{!$ObjectType.User.Fields.Department.Label}:</strong>
                            <apex:selectList id="department" size="1" value="{!sDepartment}" styleClass="deptSelect"> 
                                <apex:selectOptions value="{!lstDepartmentOptions}" />
                                <apex:actionSupport event="onchange" onsubmit="Loading(true);$('#chart_div').html('');" action="{!SwitchList}" rerender="pageWrap" id="actionSupportForDeptartment" oncomplete="drawOrgChart($('#chart_div')[0],Go('{!$User.Id}'));ShowTableChart();Loading(false);" />
                            </apex:selectList>
                        </apex:outputpanel>
                    </div>
                    <!-- the loading icon -->
                    <div class="loadingIcon hideIt"><apex:image id="loadingImage" value="{!URLFOR($Resource.OrgChart, 'images/loader_24x26.gif')}" width="24" height="26"/></div>
                    <div class="clear"></div>
                </apex:outputpanel>
                <div id="chart_div"></div>
                <br />
                <div>
                    <table id="hiddenUserData" class="list tablesorter hideMe">
                        <thead class="rich-table-thead">
                        <tr class="headerRow">
                            <th colspan="1" scope="col">Id</th>
                            <th colspan="1" scope="col">Manager Id</th>
                            <th colspan="1" scope="col">Name</th>
                            <th colspan="1" scope="col">Department</th>
                            <th colspan="1" scope="col">Phone</th>
                            <th colspan="1" scope="col">Ext</th>
                            <th colspan="1" scope="col">Email</th>
                        </tr>
                        </thead>
                        <tbody>
                        <apex:repeat value="{!lstOfUsers}" var="u"><!-- Table to get the data from and to show if they wish it with sorting -->
                            <tr class="dataRow" id="{!u.id}">
                                <td>{!JSENCODE(u.id)}</td>
                                <td>{!JSENCODE(u.ManagerId)}</td>
                                <td>{!JSENCODE(u.name)}</td>
                                <td>{!JSENCODE(u.department)}</td>
                                <td>{!JSENCODE(u.phone)}</td>
                                <td>{!JSENCODE(u.extension)}</td>
                                <td>{!JSENCODE(u.email)}</td>
                            </tr>
                        </apex:repeat>
                    </tbody></table>
                </div>
        </apex:outputpanel>
        </apex:form>
        <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">
          
            initializeOrgChart();  // LOAD API IMPORTANT TO DO THIS.          
            var ShowTable = {!bShowUserTable};
            var dptLabel = '{!$ObjectType.User.Fields.Department.Label}';
            var phLabel = '{!$ObjectType.User.Fields.Phone.Label}';
            var rxtLabel = '{!$ObjectType.User.Fields.Extension.Label}';
            var emLabel = '{!$ObjectType.User.Fields.Email.Label}';
          
            var winWidth = $(window).width() - 75 +'px !important;overflow-y:hidden;';
            var isiPad = navigator.userAgent.match(/iPad/i) != null;
            if(isiPad){
                winWidth = '100% !important;'
            }
              
            function Go(UserId){
              
                // THE ADDITIONAL INFO OPTIONS

               // IF ALL ARE FALSE WILL NOT SHOW ADDITIONAL INFO

                var userOptions = {

                      showInfo: {

                            department: true,      // show dept in additional info box

                            phone: true,           // show phone in additional info box

                            ext: true,             // show ext in additional info box

                            email: true            // show email in additional info box

            }

                };       

           //GOOGLE CHART OPTIONS

           var options = {

                 users: getUserList(userOptions,UserId, dptLabel,phLabel,rxtLabel,emLabel),

                 chartOptions: {               // default google chart options

                       allowHtml: true,        // allow html

                       allowCollapse:true      // allow collapsing 

                 }

           };                

            function ShowTableChart(){
                if(ShowTable){
                    $("table").tablesorter({
                        headers: {
                            0: {sorter: 'text'},
                            1: {sorter: 'text'},
                            2: {sorter: 'text'},
                            3: {sorter: 'text'},
                            4: {sorter: 'digit'},
                            5: {sorter: 'digit'},
                            6: {sorter: 'text'}
                        }
                    });
                    $('#hiddenUserData').removeClass('hideMe');
                }         
            }
            $(document).ready(function(){                 
                //DRAW CHART WITH DATA AND MAKE SURE IT WONT OVERFLOW
                $('#chart_div').attr('style','width:'+winWidth+' margin:5px auto; padding:10px 5px;');
                drawOrgChart($('#chart_div')[0],Go('{!$User.Id}'));
                $('.deptSelect').val('{!sDepartment}');
                //IF SHOW-TABLE START TABLE SORTER AND SHOW TABLE
                ShowTableChart();
            });
        </script>
    </body>
    </html>

</apex:page>

Example: If the dept param(URL_KEY_SHOWDEPT) is passed with URL_DEFAULT_VALUE_SHOWALL it will show all Users under all Departments, and if SHOW_SELECT_DEPT is set to true, then it will also show a Department select list so it is easy to change between departments. If you click on a User in the Chart it will display additional information on that user including: Name, Phone, Title, Email, Department, Extension. This can be turned off/on and/or you can set which info shows by customizing the JavaScript options. If all options are false, then the additional info will not show. 

NOTE: Department select list will only show if a param is passed and the SHOW_SELECT_DEPT is true...this is not the same for the other params.. see below

In the Common class there are a few variables that you can change to change the defaults of the page:

     

     // keys to look for in the url

     public static final string URL_KEY_SHOWDEPT = 'dept'; 

     public static final string URL_KEY_SHOWSIDEBAR = 'side';

     public static final string URL_KEY_SHOWHEADER = 'top';

     public static final string URL_KEY_SHOWUSER = 'user';

     // the show all param value

     public static final string URL_DEFAULT_VALUE_SHOWALL = 'all';

     // if true and param is passed will show select list 

     public static final boolean SHOW_SELECT_DEPT = true;

     // limit on the user Query

     public static final integer USER_SEARCH_LIMIT = 400;

     // show the header

     public static final boolean SHOW_HEAD = true;

     // show the side bar

     public static final boolean SHOW_SIDE = false;

     // show the table of users currently in the google charts

     public static final boolean SHOW_USER_LIST = true;

EXAMPLE URLs:

http://sfg-demo-developer-edition.na9.force.com/demo/sfgUserOrgChart

-shows Users by current users dept (nothing was passed so it defaults to Current Users Dept)

-shows header (nothing was passed so it defaults to SHOW_HEAD )

-hides sidebar (nothing was passed so it defaults to SHOW_SIDE )

-hides User Table (nothing was passed so it defaults to SHOW_USER_LIST )

URL_KEY_SHOWDEPT

http://sfg-demo-developer-edition.na9.force.com/demo/sfgUserOrgChart?dept=all

-shows all Dept's and all Users(active) and also shows dept select list (if SHOW_SELECT_DEPT is true)

http://sfg-demo-developer-edition.na9.force.com/demo/sfgUserOrgChart?dept=support

-shows Users in support dept and also shows dept select list (if SHOW_SELECT_DEPT is true)

http://sfg-demo-developer-edition.na9.force.com/demo/sfgUserOrgChart?dept=1

-shows Users by current users dept and also shows dept select list (if SHOW_SELECT_DEPT is true)

URL_KEY_SHOWSIDEBAR 

http://sfg-demo-developer-edition.na9.force.com/demo/sfgUserOrgChartt?side=true

-shows side bar

http://sfg-demo-developer-edition.na9.force.com/demo/sfgUserOrgChart?side=false

-hides side bar

URL_KEY_SHOWHEADER 

http://sfg-demo-developer-edition.na9.force.com/demo/sfgUserOrgChart?top=true

-shows header

http://sfg-demo-developer-edition.na9.force.com/demo/sfgUserOrgChart?top=false

-hides header

URL_KEY_SHOWSIDEBAR 

http://sfg-demo-developer-edition.na9.force.com/demo/sfgUserOrgChart?user=true

-shows User Table

http://sfg-demo-developer-edition.na9.force.com/demo/sfgUserOrgChart?user=false

-hides User Table

Questions? 

Twitter: @SalesForceGirl  or Facebook