Bamboo Selectors 1.1 : Bamboo Re-Invents the Thing We Just Re-Invented, Again

A couple of months ago, we released the first part of the SharePoint List Custom Column Pack, which brought the Bamboo Selector and Linked Selector lookup-style list columns into the world. A few weeks ago, we added to the pack by releasing Bamboo Rich Text, an editing column with built in spell-check support, in-line Picture Library uploading, and a few other features. Slowly but surely, the pack is growing -- yes, there's more coming down the pipe any day now.

Never one to neglect potentially great products in need of refinement (at least not intentionally), we've gone back to the Bamboo Selectors and added a heavily requested feature for version 1.1, which is now available to download from our online storefront. Two words : Multi-Select.

(Is that really two words? Is "multi" even a word? How many words is "SharePoint"? If a Web Part makes a noise, and no one's logged on to hear it, does it make a sound? The mind boggles.)

On the simplest level, multi-select lets you assign more than one column value to a list item. You may, for instance, want to indicate that a customer on your contact list is based in Germany and France. Under the old Selector (or the standard Lookup column), you'd only be able to pick one, leading to ridiculous data-entry moments like "yeah, but which country are they MORE based in?". Under the new Bamboo Selectors, you can pick as many values from the lookup list as you'd like; instead of selecting from a drop down list, you add and remove your selections through a dialog not unlike the one pictured here.

Where this has the most value, though, is with the Linked Selector. Remember, that's the column that uses the value of another column to determine what choices are made available; when the "Department" is "Engineering", for instance, the choices in "Manager" are all engineers. When the Department value is switched to "Marketing", the engineers disappear from the Manager list, and are replaced with... errm... "marketeers", or whatever it is people from Marketing are calling themselves these days. You get the point, though.

In fact, you can probably see where I'm going with this; since the same functionality applies to multi-select, you can rapidly filter out a ton of potential options by adding and removing multiple selections to the prior field. In fact, since I wrote it, let's pull up an example from the Bamboo Selectors' Application Notes, which of course, are always freely downloadable from our storefront.

"Use Case Example #2 - Using Multi-Select"

New to release 1.1 is the ability to allow multiple selections to be made in both the Bamboo Selector and Bamboo Linked Selector. This allows you to flexibly automate multi-step data entry processes by simply setting up a series of Linked Selectors.

Let’s look at an example that takes advantage of this functionality. The previous Use Case demonstrated the ability to regulate the entry of City information based on previously entered State information, by restricting the available choices in the “City” field to those associated with the selected “State”.

That example is based on the following column structure :

 
Now, let’s take this a step further, by adding a third field, and allowing users to make multiple selections in each field. The third field will be “Zip Code”, and should only display Zip Codes for any of the selected cities. If a city is removed from the list, all zip codes related to that city should be removed. If a state is removed from the list, all cities in that state should be removed, as well as all zip codes related to any cities.

Here’s our new column structure :

 
Remember, we’re also adding the ability for users to make multiple selections from any of these lists (provided multiple choices are available at the time). To do that, we need to select the Allow multiple values option when setting up each column.

 
Other than that, the column setup process is exactly the same as it was in the first Use Case; the only difference is that we’re adding an additional column – Zip Code – that is linked to the results of “City”. Once the columns are set up, the New Item screen will look something like what is pictured below. Notice the additional controls for making multiple selections; instead of selecting from a drop down, users add and remove their choice(s) to or from a list.

 
With this column structure, adding a selection to one list immediately changes the available choices in the next one. When we add “Australia” and “Canada” to the country list, the city list becomes populated with all of the cities associated with these two countries. Then, when we select a group of cities, all zip codes associated with those cities become available from the Zip Code list.

When a selection is removed, all fields associated with it are removed from subsequent lists. In this example, removing a country (the most basic unit in our column structure) from the list would remove all cities associated with the country, and in turn, all zip codes associated with it as well.

As this example demonstrates, with multi-select and nested Linked Selectors, you can regulate even complex data entry, making it as simple as possible for end users, and greatly reducing the use of inaccurate or inconsistent metadata. 

So there you go -- Bamboo Selectors, evolving right before your eyes. If you found that little exerpt to be a real page-turner (or scroll-wheel burner), download a free copy of the Application Notes, or dive right in and check out the power of multi-select for yourself by grabbing a 15-day free trial from our site.

And when you're done, let me know if that's one word, or two. It's killing me.