Popup windows

A popup window is a floating window that opens a table or an editor over the page you are on, so you can look at or edit something without leaving where you are. Windows open for Lake tables, Warehouse objects and transformations, Writeback tables, BI tables and workflow alerts. Several can be open at once; use this page to arrange them, to see how unsaved edits are handled, and to find what happens when you reload or sign out.

Open and stack windows

• Open a window from the area that holds the object, or from Open Popups.
• The page behind stays usable while a window is open: you can scroll it and use it as usual. It dims slightly so the open window stands out.
• Clicking a window brings it to the front, over the others. Starting to drag it does the same.
• New windows open near the top, each a little to the side of the last one.

The controls on a window

Every window carries the same controls in its header:

• While a window refreshes, a spinner replaces its content until the reload finishes.
• Step wizards carry Previous and Next in their footer, with Finish on the last step.
• Escape minimises the window on top. While a dialog or menu is open above the window, or while your cursor is in a text field, Escape goes to that dialog, menu or field instead.

Move, resize and fill the screen

• Drag a window by its header to move it. It stays inside the working area, so you cannot lose it off the edge of the screen.
• Drag its right edge or its bottom-right corner to resize it; the pointer changes over a resize handle. A window cannot shrink below its smallest size, unless the screen itself is smaller than that: then it is drawn smaller so you can still reach its header. Where a scrollbar sits under the pointer at the right edge, the scrollbar keeps working; resize from the bottom-right corner instead.
• A window shifts sideways when you show or hide the tree panel, so it stays in view.
• Browser zoom or a window resize does not put a window out of reach either. A window that no longer fits is moved back on screen and, when it is larger than the viewport, drawn smaller for as long as the screen is too small. That is a display fit only, so the position and size you chose come back once there is room again.
• Double-click the header, or click Maximize, to fill the screen; double-click again, or click Restore, to return it to its place. A full-screen window comes to the front and always follows the viewport. The popup bar hides while a window fills the screen.

Windows open at the size set for their editor:

Each window has its own minimum size; the Lake table editor, for example, stops at 924 by 700 pixels. A window without a set size opens at 600 by 400 pixels and cannot shrink below 500 by 300 pixels, unless the screen itself is smaller.

Minimise windows to the popup bar

• Click Minimize to send a window to the popup bar along the bottom of the screen, where it waits as a chip with its icon and name.
• Click a chip, or focus it and press Enter or Space, to bring its window back. It returns to the same place, size and order it had.
• Drag a chip left or right to reorder the bar. A click straight after a drag is ignored, so you do not open a window by accident.
• The filter beside the chips (Filter popups by type) narrows them to one area: All popups, Lake, Warehouse, Write back or BI. Its count shows the chips on screen over the total, such as 3/12, and the plain total on All popups.
• When the chips no longer fit, +N opens the rest; its tooltip reads Show hidden popups.
• The X on a chip removes that window from the bar; its tooltip reads Remove from list.
• Expand all (Alt+E) reopens every minimised window; Collapse all (Alt+W) minimises all open ones.
• Right-click a chip for Close, Close others, Close to the right, Expand all, Collapse all and Close all. The actions follow the chips your filter shows, and choices that do not apply are greyed out.
• A minimised window pauses until you reopen it, and its unsaved edits wait with it. One window keeps working while minimised: the Custom visual Studio.
• The bar shows while you have any window open or minimised, and it hides while a window fills the screen.

Close a window, and keep your edits

• A window with nothing unsaved closes straight away, from the Close control in its header.
• A window with unsaved edits asks first. The confirmation is titled Close Popup and reads You have unsaved changes. Do you want to close the popup? Choose Close to close without saving, or Cancel to stay; click Apply on the current step first if you want to keep the changes.
• A window that holds tabs counts changes on every tab, so it warns even when the tab on screen looks clean.
• Closing several windows from the bar at once (for example with Close all) shows one confirmation for all of them, titled Close Popups: {N} popups have unsaved changes ({titles}). Do you want to close them? Windows with nothing unsaved close straight away; choose Close to close the rest anyway, or Cancel to keep them waiting on the bar.

Refresh a window

Click Refresh in a window's header to reload it from the server.

• The window keeps its title and the tab or step you are on.
• Unsaved edits, errors and warnings are cleared, so only saved data comes back.
• If the window has unsaved edits, it asks first. Refresh Popup reads You have unsaved changes. Refreshing will discard them and reload this popup from the server. Continue? Click Refresh to reload anyway, or Cancel to keep your changes.

Window titles and audit details

• A window is named after the object it shows. When you save the object, its window takes the saved name.
• The header can also show who created or last updated the record: an Audit details button opens the Activity popover, with a Created entry and, after someone edits the record, an Updated entry. Each entry names the user and the time. A record with no audit information shows no button.
• A chip on the popover names the timezone the times are shown in. A missing user reads Unknown user, and a missing time reads not recorded.
• A transformation window also shows Created and Edited chips in its footer, each with the date, the time and the user. Edited appears once the transformation has been changed. See Build, test and finalize a transformation.

When a window cannot load

If a window's content fails to load, it shows Something went wrong with The content could not be displayed and This popup will close automatically..., and it closes on its own after about 15 seconds. Open the object again; if it keeps failing, report it to your administrator.

The 20-window limit

• Each area allows up to 20 windows at once, open or minimised. Minimised windows count towards the limit, so a quiet popup bar can still be full.
• Opening one more shows a warning, {area} pop-up limit reached, with the line You have 20 {area} pop-ups open or minimized. Close some before opening a new one. The message names the area, so you know where to close some.
• A window that is already open still comes forward at the limit; only a genuinely new window is refused, until you close some.

Your windows are remembered

• Your open and minimised windows are remembered for you. After a reload, or your next sign-in, they come back where you left them.
• Signing out closes all your windows, and the saved set is kept, so they return when you sign in again.
• Saved windows belong to the account that made them. When a different account signs in on the same computer, the saved windows are cleared rather than shown to it.

Questions, answered

Can I keep using the page behind a window?

Yes. The page stays usable while a window is open, and it dims slightly so the window stands out. Keep scrolling and working on it; the window floats above.

Do my windows come back after a reload or a new sign-in?

Yes. Open and minimised windows are remembered for you, and they return where you left them after a reload or your next sign-in. Signing out closes them, but the saved set comes back with you.

If someone else signs in, do they see my windows?

No. Saved windows belong to the account that made them. When a different account signs in on the same computer, the saved windows are cleared rather than shown.

What does the pop-up limit warning mean?

That area already has 20 windows, open or minimised. Close some of them on the popup bar, then open the new one. A window that is already open still comes forward at the limit.

What happens when I close several windows with unsaved changes?

One confirmation covers them all. It is titled Close Popups and names the windows involved; choose Close to close them anyway, or Cancel to keep them on the bar. Windows with nothing unsaved close straight away.

Why does a window warn about unsaved changes when the tab I see looks clean?

The window counts changes on every tab, not only the one on screen, so it warns whenever any tab has unsaved work.

What does Refresh keep in a window?

The title and the tab or step you are on. The window's data reloads from the server, and unsaved changes, drafts, errors and warnings are cleared, so only saved data returns. If you have unsaved edits, it asks first with Refresh Popup; click Cancel to keep them.

Does a minimised window stop working?

It waits until you reopen it, and any unsaved edits wait with it. One window keeps working while minimised: the Custom visual Studio.

Does Escape close a window?

No. Escape minimises the window on top instead, so your work stays open. While a dialog or menu is open above the window, or while your cursor is in a text field, Escape goes to that dialog, menu or field instead, and the window is not minimised.

What do the numbers on the popup bar filter mean?

They show the chips on screen over the total, such as 3/12 for three chips out of twelve. On All popups the button shows the total alone.

How do I see who created or changed a record?

Click Audit details in the window header (it appears when the record has audit information) and read the Activity popover: a Created entry, and an Updated entry after a change, each with the user and the time.

Why did a window show an error and close itself?

Its content failed to load, so it showed Something went wrong and closed on its own after about 15 seconds. Open the object again; if it keeps failing, report it to your administrator.