Show column issue

[Kirk_Masden]

I just wrote a comment about the value of “Show” type columns in terms of efficiency / performance:

Create and use virtual "show" columns for text, URL's, video etc Tips & Tricks 💡

Thanks for this, @TyAlevizos ! Very clear. One point that I was unaware of until recently is that the Show-column type is not only useful to achieve a desired look – it’s also useful in improving the efficiency and performance of an app. Here’s a description of the column type from @praveen : Until I read this, I didn’t realize that, as virtual columns, “Show type” columns are in a special “light” category. So, Praveen’s comment really opened my eyes. I am currently working on an app with…

Unfortunately, though I need the efficiency, I’m not a big fan of the appearance of show columns on a wide screen:

The headings you see are show columns. Why are they indented? Perhaps the person(s) who developed the show column thought indentation would help to set them off from the other columns in view but it’s exactly the opposite of the norm. Normally, in an outline for example, larger categories appear on the left and smaller categories are indented. Show headings do the opposite.

I think this indentation feature should be removed from the “Show type” column. One reason is that we have no way to remove indentation ourselves but, on the other hand, it is possible to add indentation when one wants it:

How to indent Tips & Tricks 💡

Thank you @Kirk_Masden for this tip. I like it. Indent is possible also with “Dummy” Format Rules. It does not matter what kind of icon you use, but the highlight color has to be transparent. [image] [image] [image]

Am I alone in wishing that automatic and mandatory indentation were not a part of the show column type? Has this been considered or discussed? Thanks for your consideration.

P.S. I looked on Google’s material design site, but didn’t find an indication one way or the other about indenting in this way:

Material Design

Material Design

Build beautiful, usable products faster. Material Design is an adaptable system—backed by open-source code—that helps teams build high quality digital experiences.

@praveen

[pravse]

@Arthur_Rallu @Summer ---- comments?

[Kirk_Masden]

Thanks @praveen! Here’s a little illustration for @Arthur_Rallu and @Summer . The “Show” columns are set to ordinary text and I’m using a date column for comparison but all non-show columns stay near the left as this date column does:

[Kirk_Masden]

Here’s one more illustration of some trouble I’m having with the “Show” type column. Here the problem is the vertical spacing. I’m using the column type to display hyperlinks but everything is so spread out vertically as to be rather embarrassing to use:

The vertical space problem will become more pronounced if I add all 25 links, as I would like to do.

I can live with the spacing for headings but with list of links or text, etc., it’s a problem. And, of course, we don’t have the option to reduce line space with a format rule.