New filter components on date fields

[edulid]

Are the new filter components disabled on fields of type="date"?
All other fields have this filter when clicking on the field and then "filter with". Only date-fields not.
Why are these disabled ?

Using smartgwt 6.0p power 06.04

[Isomorphic]

This is by design. The default filtering interface for dates allows you to do almost everything allowFilterOperators lets you do, and some important things that it currently doesn't ("between" operator, for instance).

[edulid]

Ok, thank you, this is true.

[edulid]

While checking the filters on fields of type="date" I noticed that the filtering interface for dates does not allow filtering on NULL.
Is there any way to achieve that ?

[Isomorphic]

No, there's not currently a way to do that in the FilterEditor - it would require offering a FilterBuilder interface.

[edulid]

In the blog to the 6.0 version (see attachment) you say that advanced search operations are available in *any* grid.
You mention that the following operators are available: "is null, is not null, etc"
But you don't mention that not all operations are available for some types of fields, e.g. for dates. (although these operators make sense in date fields).

Wouldn't it be possible to put in the filter date-editor some button "is null" or something similar? I think with the new filters this should be possible. I think to filter to "is null" on dates is a very common use case and reading the blog you think that this is also possible.

[edulid]

or maybe: is it possible to modify the date-filter window? similarly as the calendar: there you explained me some time ago how to modify it in order to add new buttons. Maybe this is possible with the date-filter window too?

[Blama]

Hi edulid,

are you concerned about best UI possible or functionality?
If it is functionality, try filtering on "< some years ago" as "<" is translated to "< OR IS NULL" on the server side. Perhaps this helps.

Best regards
Blama

[Isomorphic]

We'd like to offer yet more search operators, including the ability use "between" on other fields, and this is an area we'll likely enhance in the future.

[edulid]

Ok, but what about "is null" and "is not null" on date fields? Please answer the questions above.

[edulid]

As I said, reading your blog it is not clear that these new operators are available in *some* fields.
The optimal solution would be to have some buttons in the date filter window for this purpose. Is it possible to extend it to this purpose ?

[Isomorphic]

It might be possible, if you did some extensive modifications via the AutoChild system and were willing to rely on various behaviors not actually documented or guaranteed to remain the same. We wouldn't recommend trying this. If you see "isNull" support for dates as something very important in your particular applications, the best approach would be a Feature Sponsorship.

[edulid]

Isn't the blog then misleading ? You claim "advanced search operations" on "any grid that features inline filtering". And that the following operators are available: "is null, is not null, etc". And this is one of the main reasons we purchased the 6.0 version.
But this is not the case for date-fields, although a "is null" or "is not null" operation is a perfectly valid use case for dates.
And, although we are paying for support, you are offering a paid solution for adding this feature, which, as I said, reading your blog, is understood to be available as a new feature with 6.0 ? I really don't understand this.

[Isomorphic]

There's not a single incorrect statement in that blog post. It says certain operators are "available" and does not say they are available on every single field, as it should not: it's not just dates - there's no way to use certain operators on fields that have a SelectItem or ComboBoxItem configured, among other limitations. This feature isn't intended to replace the completely general-purpose criteria-editing of the FilterBuilder, but rather to expose more filtering capabilities in applications that don't use a FilterBuilder because it would overwhelm some users. And the feature does exactly what it says: offers "advanced search operations" on "any grid that features inline filtering".

We didn't list out every last detail of how the feature works because that would be absurd in a blog post. If you're really suggesting that we phrased things *just so*, carefully avoiding the mention of date fields not supporting isNull, in a secret plot to try to bilk you out of your license upgrade fee.. all we can recommend is to stop posting for a couple of days to restore some perspective. 6.0 was a giant upgrade on many levels, for a very reasonable fee, and its wildly inappropriate to point a support fee (which doesn't even have a profit margin built in!) as a reason for you to call for features to be added, free of charge.

[edulid]

and does not say they are available on every single field, as it should not: it's not just dates - there's no way to use certain operators on fields that have a SelectItem or ComboBoxItem configured, among other limitations.

As you say, there is no way to use these operators on certain fields. That is true. But this doesn't hold for "is null" and "dates", which is what we are talking about. It is certainly possible to use a "is null" operator on a "date" field and it is a valid and common use case. So this limitation is not because of a lack of applicability, but just because this is not supported.

but rather to expose more filtering capabilities in applications that don't use a FilterBuilder because it would overwhelm some users.

That's true, that's why we are trying to use the new operators, which are easy to use for the end user.

If you're really suggesting that we phrased things *just so*, carefully avoiding the mention of date fields not supporting isNull, in a secret plot to try to bilk you out of your license upgrade fee..

No, I am not. I am not talking about "secret plots" or anything similar. But you should also try to understand my perspective:
-I read on the blog about a very nice new feature ( I don't know the supported fields yet ).
-I say: "we need this".
-We purchase the product, among other features, because of this feature. (yes, there are another features, of course, but this feature is very interesting for us)
-I try to use it on dates, e.g. for filtering missing values on dates (is null). To show the user where he has to enter missing values (since they are null)
-->Dissapointment. This feature is not available for this use case.
So please try also to understand our point of view.
Of course, you cannot list every last detail of the feature in a blog post. This is true.
Nevertheless, I repeat, please try to understand our point of view. I never talked about a "secret plot" or something similar as you suggested. I tried to explain you why in my particular case I expected this to be supported reading your blog. Maybe it was my mistake to assume this would be supported.

6.0 was a giant upgrade on many levels, for a very reasonable fee, and its wildly inappropriate to point a support fee (which doesn't even have a profit margin built in!) as a reason for you to call for features to be added, free of charge.

As I said, this is not a try to call for features to be added free of charge. You are not being very fair with this statement.

But, I see this is not leading anywhere, so we will try to find another solution for this use case we need.