Folder Columns

In addition to the standard fields you can add to a view, Zoot also lets you add folder columns to a view. You add a folder column to a view to make it easier to assign items to the folder or to its child folders. When you add a folder column to a view, if the folder has any child folders, assignment to the child folders is what will be displayed in the column.

Examine the following folder structure:

Rating

·

Excellent

·

Good

·

Fair

·

Poor

If you were to add this Rating folder to a view, the resulting column would display assignment to the child folders Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor. By contrast, if you were to add the Poor folder to a view, the column would display assignment to the Poor folder only, because the Poor folder has no child folders.


To add a folder column to a view, follow these steps:

1. In the Folder Tree locate the folder you want to add to your view and drag it to the Column Headings Bar (the bar in which column headings are displayed). Drop the folder onto the Column Headings Bar exactly where you want the folder column to appear.

2. When you drop the folder, Zoot displays an Options Dialog so that you can provide a name for the column. Enter a name for the column. The Dialog also lets you specify the type of folder column to be created. Select a column type, then click OK to continue.

You can choose from 3 folder column types:

Simple List
The folder column will display assignment to child folders, but you will not be able to edit the folder assignments directly in the column. There is no default sorting, so the Item Grid can be sorted any way you want.

Single-pick List
The folder column will display assignment to child folders and you will be allowed to assign an item to only one of these child folders. For example, using the Rating folder structure discussed above, if you assign an item to the Excellent folder, the item will be cleared from all the other child folders. In other words, the child folder assignments are mutually exclusive. Items displayed in the Item Grid will be sorted first by child folder so that items are grouped by child folder. The sort order is determined by the relative position of each child folder in the Folder Tree hierarchy (top to bottom).

Multi-pick List
The folder column will display assignment to child folders and you will be allowed to assign an item to all of the child folders or any subset of the child folders. In other words, the child folders are not mutually exclusive. A Multi-pick List would be inappropriate for the Rating folder structure because those child folders represent mutually exclusive ratings, that is, it would not make sense for an item to be classified as both Excellent and Poor. Items can be sorted any way you want.


You can also add folder columns to a view using the Columns Dialog:

1. On the toolbar click the Smart button and choose Columns from the pop-up menu. Zoot displays the Columns Dialog.

2. Click the Add button and choose Folder Fields from the pop-up menu. Zoot displays a Folder Tree. Select the folder(s) you want to add as columns.

You can create a new folder and add it to a view as a column with a single command:

1. Right-click the Column Headings Bar and choose New Folder Column from the pop-up menu.

2. Enter a name for the new folder and column heading, then choose the type of column you want to create (Simple, Single-pick or Multi-pick). Click OK and Zoot creates a new folder and adds the folder to the active view as a column.

If you chose to create a Single-pick or Multi-pick folder column, you can create child folders by typing directly into the folder column.