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Overview
Query properties are settings that allow the user to customize how results are shown. To access query properties, click on the “query” tab located above the query fields list. Query properties allow the user to change how results are visualized, filter the top records, and even make instructional notes for a query.
Results Visualization
Most query results are displayed in a data grid by default, but results can also be displayed as events on a calendar, as locations on a map, or as a URL document preview,etc. To change the results visualization for a query, navigate to the query properties tab and select the new visualization.
The more advanced visualizations – calendars, maps, and URL previews, etc. – require additional configuration to tell the system which field(s) and other properties to base the visualization on. Once selected, the configuration section will appear to the right.
Record Restriction
Axiom offers a number of options to limit the results to show a certain number or percentage of records. When grid pagination is active, this limit is the record count for each page. Note: Sorting must be applied to at least one field to use Record Restriction. Record restriction options are:
- Automatic Restriction (if required): Selected by default, this option will restrict the number of records shown at a time if required by an especially large query.
- Show only <N> records: Show only a specific number of records (indicate number in the box that displays)
- Show only <N> percent records: Show only a specific percentage of records (indicate percentage in the box that displays)
- Show all records (disable restriction): Shows all records regardless of number
For example, the user may want to view only a certain number of results from a query. To set a query to display only a certain number of records in the results, go to the query properties section and select “Show Top Records” from the Filter Record Count drop-down menu. Enter the number of records in the box to the right. The records displayed will be the “top records,” or the first records displayed in the query based on sorting.
Data on the Current Page
All data on the results grid is for the current page, whether showing paginated or “top” records. For example, the record count is “number of records on the page”, and the grand totals are for the data currently displayed.
Query Results Pagination
When paginating data grid results, the results grid displays the current page number and links to the next and previous pages. The URL also displays the current page number, and queries set up for pagination can be linked directly to a specific page.
Tip: You can change pages with Ctrl + Left/Right (Cmd + Left/Right on macOS).
The current page number isn’t saved with the Query metadata. When a query runs, it will always show the first page of results.
Tip: The exception is when using the “Return To” button on a Record Detail Screen, which will take you back to the page you came from.
Records Per Page
You can set up pagination for a Query by turning on Record Restriction, which tells Axiom to divide the results rows between pages. Grid Queries previously set up with Record Restriction will automatically become paginated.
Example: If you pick “Show only records” and put in 200, then you’ll get 200 records at a time. Formerly, this would have just been “Top Records” and that was it, but now it’s per page.
Data Grid Visualization
The “Data Grid” option is the default visualization for queries. There are no configuration options from the query design window.
Navigating Data Grid Results
Data grid results present information in a spreadsheet-like format. Click a column header to sort by that column, and click again (or click the small sort indicator 
) to reverse the sort order.
Clickable links will display as hyperlinks in your browser. Note that different fields may contain different hyperlinks. In the example here (a data grid result from a “Find Person” query), note:
- The Person ID and Full Name links both navigate to the Person Detail screen.
- The Household link navigates to the Household Detail screen.
- The Email link opens an email to that person in your computer’s default email client.
Tip: To determine where a link will navigate, look at the status bar in the bottom of your browser when moving your cursor over the link. If you do not see a status bar, it may be hidden in your browser.
If the query contains at least one multi-line field (e.g., a “Notes” field), a “Row Height” option will appear in the lower left of the data grid. Click the plus sign (+) to expand the row height and then the minus sign (-) to contract.
Labels & Envelopes Visualization
The “Labels & Envelopes” option allows query results to display as printable labels or envelopes. Use this visualization option for queries such as the Household, Person, or other person/address centric queries that contain mailing address data.
Configuring Labels & Envelopes Visualization
The labels and envelopes visualization option will attempt to display all fields selected within the query on the label. For example, if labels are printed from a “Find Household” query, all default selected fields within the query such as Household ID, Addressee, Address 1, etc. display on the label unless told otherwise.
For best results, configure the query using the following steps:
- Using the gear icon in the upper right corner of the “Field” tab on the query design screen, select “Hide all Fields.” This deselects all fields from displaying in the query results.
- In the “search fields” search box, search using the keyword multi and pull in the “Mailing Address (Multi-Line/HH) in the query design. This will display addresses as standard multi-line mailing labels.
- Enter the desired query criteria for which addresses should be printed (ex. Role = Alumnus/a).
Once the appropriate fields have been added to the query design and all criteria have been added for the query, navigate to the Query Properties tab and select the “Labels & Envelopes” visualization option. Label configuration options will appear to the right.
To sort these labels by a field that does not display on the label, pull in the field that you wish to sort by and then click on the Style tab in the section on the right. Select the Suppress From Results option in the Column Options drop-down menu. If a field is suppressed from view, instead of a check mark next to the field name, it should instead display a horizontal dash.
Select from the “Card Format” dropdown the desired label size. Standard Avery envelope labels such as 5160, 5161, and 5162 are included. If additional label sizes are needed, contact an Account Manager. Once the label size has been selected, run the query.
Printing Labels/Envelopes
Once the query is run, a printable grid of labels will appear. Confirm addresses are displaying correctly before printing. To print the labels, use the action menu item and select the “Print Labels/Envelopes” option. Additional configuration such as font, font size, and text alignment can be changed from this screen before printing labels.
Labels will print as a downloadable/printable PDF. Select the “Print X Labels” to view the PDF. The print button, displays how many labels total will be printed as a result of this query.
Calendar Results Visualization
Data that is date oriented, such as group events, person birthdays, or class assignments, is better displayed in calendar form, rather than in a list. When querying these kinds of data, users can change the results visualization to a calendar output.
To change the results visualization for a query, navigate to the query properties tab, located above the query structure, and select the “Calendar” option. Once selected, the configuration section will appear to the right.
Configuring Calendar Visualization
Calendar configuration involves several possible fields:
FIELD | DESCRIPTION |
| Date | The content of the field selected controls where results are placed on the calendar, and therefore must be a field that contains a date. There must be a field selected here in order for the calendar visualization to work properly. Please note: this field should be sorted in ascending order. |
| Description | The content of the field selected becomes the name of the record on the calendar. There must be a field selected here in order for the calendar visualization to work properly. Please note: only certain fields will appear as linkable calendar items. |
| Tool Tip | The content of the field selected appears when the cursor is placed over a record on the calendar. |
| Link Style | The content of the link selected appears when the cursor is placed over a record on the calendar. |
Navigating Calendar Results
Displaying results as a calendar can sometimes produce a long report. The calendar sidebar provides an easy way for users both to scroll quickly between calendar data and to see a graphic representation of the amount of data throughout the calendar.
The calendar sidebar is located to the far right of the results screen and shows the entire date range of the query results. The section of the date range that is currently displayed appears in a highlighted box. To quickly jump to another part of the calendar, simply click on that part of the date range on the calendar sidebar.
The calendar sidebar also contains a bar graph representation of the amount of data in each section of the calendar. This representation allows the user to easily see where there are higher concentrations of calendar items.
Printing a Calendar
To print a calendar, click the Action menu and select Print Calendar. A number of printing options are available:
- Start Date and End Date: Display only a certain date range when printing
- Shade Alternating Months toggle option
- Page Break Between Months toggle option
- Paper Dimension dropdown menu options (A4 and Letter)
- Page Layout dropdown menu options (Portrait and Landscape)
- Show Page Number toggle option
- Show Print Date toggle option
Click Print Calendar to proceed. The PDF will begin downloading automatically; if it does not, a link is provided to manually begin the download.
Map Results Visualization
Longitude and latitude data, such as a household address, is better displayed on a map, rather than in a list. When querying this kind of data, the user can change the results visualization to a map output (powered by Google maps).
To change the results visualization for a query, navigate to the query properties tab, located above the query structure – and select the “Map” option. Once selected, the configuration section will appear to the right.
Configuring Map Visualization
Map configuration involves several possible fields:
FIELD | DESCRIPTION |
| Latitude Field | Indicates the latitude of a specific address. The latitude field must be selected here in order for the map visualization to work properly. Please note: the latitude field must first be added to the query before it can be selected in the configuration. |
| Longitude Field | Indicates the longitude of a specific address. The longitude field must be selected here in order for the map visualization to work properly. Please note: the longitude field must first be added to the query before it can be selected in the configuration. |
| Description | The content of the field selected appears when the cursor is placed over a record on the map. |
Navigating Map Results
All query results on a map are displayed as part of the “tooltip.” The tooltip contains the data associated with a given point on the map. When a map is zoomed out, nearby tooltips are grouped together in one summary tooltip. The number on the summary tooltip indicates how many tooltips have been grouped together. As a map is zoomed in, fewer tooltips are grouped together.
To quickly zoom in on one section of the results map, click on the summary tooltip. Depending on the proximity of the addresses, the user may have to zoom in on several summary tooltips before a single tooltip is shown on the map. Click on a single tooltip to view all of the data associated with that record (based on the other fields in the query).
URL Preview Visualization
It is possible for data to be displayed in a format that shows a preview of a form for each individual within the query results. For example, documents generally appear in a results query as an external link. To preview documents from within query results, rather than by visiting an external link, the user can change the results visualization to a URL preview.
Configuring URL Preview Results
To change the results visualization for a query, navigate to the Query Properties tab, located above the query design, and select the “URL Preview” option. Once selected, the configuration section will appear to the right.
Configuration for URL Preview visualization only involves one field: the document URL. Select the field of the desired document to preview from the drop-down menu.
Select the field of the desired document to preview from the drop-down menu.
Navigating URL Preview Results
URL Preview results are separated into two sections: a list of results in a data grid on the left, and a preview window on the right. To preview the document associated with a record, click on that record in the list of the results.
If there is more than one document URL field included in the query, the user can easily switch to another document URL using the drop-down list at the top right corner of the query results.
Timeline Visualization
The “timeline” visualization option allows query results to display as a timeline. This can be useful when examining query results that plot information over time, such as resource reservations.
Configuring Timeline Visualization
A timeline visualization will only make sense when querying data that has time/date values. Three types of fields are required for a meaningful timeline visualization, all of which will be entered in the “Visualization Configuration” area of the query design page:
- Date/time fields.
- A timeline grouping field. This will be the “y” axis in the visualization.
- Description field. This will provide the text for each item on the visualization.
Once you have selected the fields, click the “Query” tab to select “Timeline” under “Visualization.” Further options will appear on the right. To properly map the correct fields to the timeline, enter Timeline Grouping Field, Description, and Start Date, as well as other optional fields as desired. Click “Run Query.”
Navigating Query Results
The timeline displays, with the fields selected for the “Timeline Grouping” appearing along the left “y” axis, and the items selected in the “Description” field appearing on the timeline. There are several navigation options from the results screen:
- Click any of the Description fields or items in the timeline to navigate directly to that item.
- Navigate to the desired date with the arrows in the top left or the “today” button.
- Display by hours, days, or weeks as desired, or as a heatmap, with the buttons in the top right. A heatmap shows the frequency of events at particular day/times with different intensities of color, and can be useful to get an overview of data.
Here is a brief (1:11) webinar tutorial on the timeline visualization feature: