LMS data Pickers provide users a fluid way to search for various types of records and filter data for field entry selections. Pickers are designed to assist administrators in scoping their search to view records (e.g. the Search User process) and to provide only the valid options for field entries in Add/Edit forms (e.g. during the Add Course process, when you must Choose Organizations to add a course to catalogs within Business Units.)
Pickers are found throughout the LMS and function in similar ways, regardless of the type of search taking place or the purpose of the resulting selection. Some are basic, with just one or two criteria available for filtering. Others are complex and provide a number of filters for fine-tuning a search. This document will refer to a few of the more common data pickers as examples. When you find other pickers - or search pages - in the LMS, you can apply the information and techniques described below to fully utilize them.
Recognizing Data Pickers
Left Navigation Menu
Some of the Search options found in the Left Navigation Menu can be considered “data pickers.” They allow you to quickly and easily filter data to find the most relevant results. From the list of matches, you can usually perform follow-on actions, such as viewing information, editing records, impersonating a user, or enrolling others in a course.
These are examples of pickers available from the Left Navigation Menu. Clicking these links opens the related picker, prompting further action.
- Users => Search Users
- Courses => Search Courses
- Organizations => Search Organizations
Selection Options on Data Entry Forms
Within a data entry form, you can access data pickers via hyperlinks. These are available in these two situations:
- The Picker is required in order to find and select a value for a field with no manual input option.
- The Picker is optional, for use when you do not know a valid value to enter manually in the field.
Using Pickers to add or Remove a Single Value/Record
Pickers in which you can only select a single value behave in such a manner because the target field for the selection is configured to accept only one value at a time. After you generate a list of records matching your search criteria, you will only have the option of choosing one record. Typically, each result will have an associated “Select” button, and there is no “Checkout” option in the Basket.
Example: You will find this type of picker during the Add User process, as you select an organization. While you can associate a user with multiple organizations after saving the entry, during initial set up, new users can only be associated with one organization.
To Select a Single Value
1. Click the Picker hyperlink.
2. In the Picker window, provide any necessary search criteria and click Search.
3. Click Select next to the single item you wish to select. The LMS returns you directly to the original page and populates the field with the selected value.
To Remove or Change a Single Value
1. Click the Picker hyperlink.
2. Select the appropriate option in the Picker window:
- To remove an existing value with replacement -- Click the red ‘X’ next to the current entry in the Basket (See A), then search for and select a new value.
- To remove an existing value without replacement -- Click Clear Basket (See B).The current entry is removed and the LMS returns you to the original screen without a selection. Note: If the target field is required, you may be forced to select a new value in order to save the record.
Using Pickers to Add or Remove Multiple Values/Records
Pickers that allow multiple selections are used when the target field is configured to accept one or more values at a time. After you generate a list of records matching your search criteria, you will have the option of choosing more than one record. Typically, each record will have an associated “Add” button and there is a “Checkout” button for the Basket.
Example: You can find this type of picker during the Add Instructor process, in which you are able to select multiple Facilities and Courses to associate with the new instructor.
To Select Multiple Values
1. Click the Picker hyperlink. In the example below, the Training Facilities field has already been updated with four values. The ongoing example shows the Course Picker associated with the “Add courses” link.
2. In the Picker window, provide any necessary search criteria and click Search.
3. From the list of results, click Add next to any entry you want to include in the selection. The selected items will appear in the “Basket.”
4. Click Check Out to load the contents of the Basket into the target field.
To Remove or Change Multiple Values
1. Click the Picker hyperlink.
2. In the Picker window, click the red ‘X’ (See A) next to any current entries in the Basket you want to remove, or click Clear Basket to remove all (see B.)
3. After removing the desired values:
- To select additional values -- Conduct a new search and add the appropriate values to the Basket. Click Check Out to load the all the values listed in the Basket, old and new, into the data field.
- To exit without selecting additional values -- Click the red ‘X’ (See A) next to the current entries in the Basket you want to remove, or click Clear Basket (see B). Note: if the target field is required, you may be forced to select at least one value in order to save the record. Click Check Out to finalize your selections.
Inability to Remove Picker Values
There may be situations in which you try to remove a value in a Picker Basket, but are unable to because there is no red “X” next to the value and no option to “Clear Basket”. This occurs when you are logged into the LMS with a Default Profile that is not related to the Business Unit of the value you are trying to remove. It should not be an issue for users with just one profile or those with multiple profiles in the same Business Unit.
To remove one of these “locked” values, you must return to your homepage, click the My Details tab, and activate a profile associated with the Business Unit related to the data you want to edit. At the bottom of the My Details page, you will find a complete list of active profiles, any of which you can enable by clicking the Activate Profile button.
After activating the appropriate profile, return to the Picker and remove the “unlocked” value.
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