Style & UI Metadata

Style and UI metadata define how a column is presented when consumed by a view implementation.

These settings:

Do not modify stored data
Do not affect record structure
Do not participate in parsing or indexing

They describe how column data should be rendered or interacted with in a table view.

Although defined in the table schema, these properties are applied only when a view (such as a TableSheet view) consumes the column definition.

caption

Defines the header text of the column.

columns: {
    name: {
        caption: "Employee Name"
    }
}

If not specified, the column name is used as the default caption.

caption affects only presentation.

width

Defines the default width of the column when rendered in a view.

columns: {
    name: {
        width: 150
    }
}

Width can be:

A numeric pixel value
A star-sizing string (depending on view support)

Width has no impact on stored data.

For layout behavior details, see View Column Configuration.

style

Defines the default cell style for the column.

columns: {
    price: {
        style: { formatter: "$#,##0.00" }
    }
}

Style options may include:

Formatter
Alignment
Font
Background color
Cell type (depending on view support)

Style configuration is consumed by the view layer.

headerStyle

Defines the header cell style.

columns: {
    orderId: {
        headerStyle: {
            backColor: "#3390FF",
            font: "bold 14px Calibri"
        }
    }
}

Header styles apply only to column headers and are view-dependent.

conditionalFormats

Defines conditional formatting rules applied to the column.

columns: {
    price: {
        conditionalFormats: [rule]
    }
}

Conditional formats:

Apply styles based on cell values
Are evaluated by the view layer
Do not alter underlying data

validator

Defines validation rules applied to the column.

columns: {
    quantity: {
        validator: {
            type: "number",
            comparisonOperator: "greaterThan",
            value1: 0
        }
    }
}

Validators:

Enforce input constraints
May provide error messages
Are evaluated during editing operations

Validation logic does not change stored values unless input is rejected.

For advanced validation behavior, see Data Validation.

allowSort, allowFilterByValue, allowFilterByList

Control the visibility and availability of sorting and filtering capabilities in views.

columns: {
    orderId: {
        allowSort: false,
        allowFilterByValue: false,
        allowFilterByList: false
    }
}

These settings:

Affect view interaction behavior
Do not affect underlying query logic in DataManager

headerFit

Defines how column headers are laid out in certain view implementations.

columns: {
    orderId: {
        headerFit: "stack"
    }
}

Supported modes depend on the view implementation.

Header fit affects layout only.

outlineColumn

Marks a column as an outline column in views that support hierarchical display.

columns: {
    name: {
        outlineColumn: true
    }
}

This property is relevant when hierarchical data is configured at the schema level.

Hierarchical modeling is documented separately in Hierarchical Data.

Schema-Level vs View-Level Configuration

Style and UI metadata can be defined at both:

Table schema level
View column level

When both are present:

View-level configuration overrides schema-level defaults
Schema-level settings act as baseline metadata

This separation ensures:

Data modeling remains view-independent
Presentation logic can vary across views
Schema definitions remain reusable

Responsibility Boundary

Style & UI metadata:

Describe default presentation behavior
Are consumed by views
Do not change data
Do not affect parsing or relationships

For rendering details and UI-specific behavior, refer to:

This maintains a clear separation between data modeling and presentation logic within the documentation system.