Data Driven Menu Issue

[keriw]

I am trying to use a data driven menu.  I have a table that is configured with columns that match the MenuEntry Data Shape.

column names:

description

imageURL

isDefault

linkDestination

linkTarget

linkType

menuId

parentMenuId

titlle

This is the data in the that table:

A	NULL	False	http://server:8181/Thingworx/Runtime/index.html#master=&mashup=Metrics Dashboard&Team=A	New	Hyperlink	Teams_0	Teams	A
B	NULL	False	http://server:8181/Thingworx/Runtime/index.html#master=&mashup=Metrics Dashboard&Team=ACS.T1	New	Hyperlink	Teams_1	Teams	B
Teams	NULL	NULL	NULL	---	Menu	Teams	NULL	Teams

I then created a service that returns an infotable and uses the data shape MenuEntry.  I then placed the menu widget down on the mashup and linked the service data to the menudata and selected datadriven.  No data is being returned in runtime.  Any thoughts/ideas?

Thanks

[paic]

I've never worked with the menu as Data Driven but what I do see sometimes with a Tree widget, is that it can't render if a value is NULL.

Perhaps you can try with the value set to "" instead.

[keriw]

Thanks for the idea PaiC, unfortunately it didn't resolve the issue.

[paic]

Have you verified that the information comes into the mashup by putting it into a grid? This is a great way to check if information arrives in an infotable.

Also I would create this menu as a defined/configured menu and run the GetEffectiveMenu service into another grid, allowing you to compare what you are generating vs. what Thingworx natively would generate for a Menu widget.

[keriw]

Yes, I verified that it is coming into a grid correctly.  Everything looks perfect.

[adam11]

Keri,

Based on my testing, the null values do not appear to affect the Menu widget. However, if you're capitalizing NULL and False as you are in the example data you provided, this will likely create issues as JavaScript keywords are case-sensitive.

I was able to get a data-driven Menu working in a Mashup by observing the JSON data returned by the GetEffectiveMenu Service when using the widget with the configured option. Using this structure as a reference, I programmatically created a Menu with two hyperlinks and a menu. Below, I'll briefly describe the process:

Add a Row for the Top-level Menu

After creating an InfoTable with the appropriate DataShape (MenuEntry), I add a row for the top-level menu:

var row = new Object();

row.menuId = "Menu1";

row.linkType = "Menu";

result.AddRow(row);

Next, I add the hyperlink menu items:

var row = new Object();

row.parentMenuId = "Menu1";

row.menuId = "Menu1_1";

row.title = "Google";

row.linkType = "Hyperlink";

row.linkDestination = "http://google.com";

row.linkTarget = "New";

row.isDefault = false;

result.AddRow(row);

...

Add a Row for the Nested Menu

var row = new Object();

row.parentMenuId = "Menu1";

row.menuId = "Menu1.Menu2";

row.title = "More";

row.linkType = "Menu";

result.AddRow(row);

Lastly, I add a row for the menu item of the nested menu:

var row = new Object();

row.parentMenuId = "Menu1.Menu2";

row.menuId = "Menu1.Menu2_0";

row.title = "ThingWorx";

row.description = "ThingWorx";

row.linkType = "Hyperlink";

row.linkDestination = "http://thingworx.com";

row.linkTarget = "New";

row.isDefault = false;

result.AddRow(row);

Obviously, you'll generate this InfoTable differently depending on your use case, but this should help you get the necessary information in the InfoTable for the Menu. Speaking of your use case, would you mind sharing it? I'm curious to know why you would need to use a data-driven Menu.

Regards,

Adam

[keriw]

Great, I will give that a try.  Our main menu for our system is a list of teams that is dynamic in nature, a team name can change or a new team could be added or deleted from the database.  I have substituted with a basic list in the interim but would like to have the more robust features that the menu provides and the capability for icons.