Central Page Development Considerations

A central page looks at one specific dimension value and tells everything about that dimension value on one central page. As you develop central pages, keep the following in mind:

  • A central page is defined within a pages block in a data-area block.
  • Basic setup of a central page requires at least one cPlan, tab, and screen, plus as many elements as desired.
  • Using a cbase-input attribute within a cplan attribute is not supported with divetab files.
  • A dimension must be defined for each central page.
  • Central pages are not supported on the iPhone.
  • A central page can pull data from multiple cPlans, as long as the dimension is shared by all cPlans.
  • A central page uses a free-form layout so it can be customized to suit your needs. You can design the page to display data on one tab, or divide the data so that it displays across multiple tabs. Each tab can also be designed so that it contains one or more screens, with each screen displaying specific data.
  • A central page supports the use of parameters to display portions of the data.

  • Any cell on a central page can be configured to link to additional information.

    You can include a link to another page for the chart column attribute. If a parameter is included on the target page, the value selected is passed to the target page.

    For Bar, H-Bar, and Line charts, the links are accessible through the chart values. For Pie charts, the links are accessible through the legend and chart values.

Usage Scenarios

  • Multiple dimensions can be defined. A central page with multiple dimensions results in identically formatted pages for each dimension.
  • A dimension can only be used in one central-page definition within a DiveTab script. This ensures accurate linking.
  • When a central-page exists for a dimension, then all dimension values on other pages are automatically linked to it.
  • If parameters are in use in the script, the central-page has the option to make use of those parameters.
  • Central pages require dimensions, while overview pages do not.