The Entity Picker is the control throughout the application where "entities" - connections, devices or sensors/calculations can be selected for a variety of different features and purposes...
There are 3 main sections to this page - the search, filter and settings area along the top, the available entities panel on the left and the selected entities panel on the right.
View settings
Users will be presented with up to 3 display types (groups, connectivity or list) depending upon the usage of the control - this display type relates to the left hand "Available..." panel on the screen.
If a user is using the control to select either a connection or a device, meaning sensors are not selectable, the "View settings" option will look slightly different, with the group option being disabled...
Note: The selection made in the "View Settings" is stored in local memory on a per node type basis (Connections, Devices or Sensors), to ensure users do not need to change settings each time they use the control. This resets upon a timeout or logout of the application.
Group
The group setting will offer a tree selection type to the user in the available panel - allowing users to navigate through their sensors in a hierarchical parent/child manner, similar to how standard folders work...
Connections and devices
Connections and devices – or “Connectivity mode” will allow users to modify the display of their tree by Connections, Devices and Sensors – a display similar to that previously adopted in the Connectivity feature of iTwin IoT which some users may be familiar with.
Groups and associated features of groups cannot be used in this mode and will not appear when adding/modifying items or sorting/filtering.
All calculations (when selecting sensors) will display within a virtual group in this mode – “Calculations” given they do not have associated connections or devices.
Flat List
The flat list mode removes any hierarchical concept to the panel - no groups will be displayed and depending upon the type of entity you are selecting these will all appear in one "flat list".
Search & Filter
The search text box located along the top of the Entity Picker (and also Resource Browser in the Explorer feature) offers users assistance when it comes to locating entities.
When searching - the following properties of the application are queried...
- Name - existing (Connections. Devices, Sensors, Calcs, Groups)
- Serial Number
- ID (Sensor, Device, Connection, Group, Calculation, Alert)
- Notes
- Alert Name
- Entity Type
- Group tags
The search bar itself works alongside the filter options which can be found by clicking the button and will display a list of available filter options below (groups and sensors example)...
These filter options differ depending upon the entity type you are selecting and results are ranked to show the most relevant options first.
Groups Mode: Types → Alerts → Tags → Statuses
Connectivity Mode: Types → Connections → Devices → Alerts → Statuses
List Mode: Types → Connections → Devices → Alerts → Statuses
Within each category, results are ranked by how closely they match your search, with exact matches appearing first and partial match last.
The search dropdown shown when using the search will show a maximum of 12 helpful suggestions. If there are:
- Recent searches only → Shows all recent searches (up to 12)
- Recent searches + search input → Shows up to 3 recent searches, with remaining slots filled by matching filter suggestions
- Search input only → Shows matching filter suggestions (up to 12)
- Both recent searches and filter matches → Recent searches displayed first, then filter suggestions to fill the remaining slots.
The system intelligently uses the available space: recent searches take priority when displayed, leaving room for filter suggestions below them.
The search dropdown closes on pressing Escape, Enter, or clicking outside of its bounds.
As noted above, the search bar will maintain a list of recent searches which will update when typing. These options can be cleared using the "Clear" text to the right of the row but helps to avoid repeated actions when locating entities.
When typing in the search bar the "Available..." entities panel will be updating live to show content related to your search query (removing non matching results)...
To apply any of the "Top matching filters" - users can click the "Apply" text to the right of the row, this will apply the filter directly beneath the search bar which can be combined with multiple filters to further narrow down the results.
On applying a filter, the search box is cleared (nothing is stored in local storage) and the filter is applied.
Selecting an entity
To select an entity and move this selection to the right panel users can either click on the entity itself in the "Available" panel or they can use the tick boxes and then the "Move" buttons (left or right) to apply the selection...
When clicking the move button above, the selection would then change to...
When an entity is selected they will appear as greyed out in the left hand "Available" panel as shown above and are unavailable for selection.
In some cases there are limitations on the amount of entities which can be selected. In this case users will see information similar to...
Note: The "Selected..." panel will always display selected entities in a list format and "View settings" do not apply here.