I am new to SharpTools but am pleased to say it is absolutely great. I have come across a hurdle though and am hoping to get some advice, or if it’s not possible make a feature request.
Having made a dashboard I want to be able to access it on both my mobile and the PC. While it is possible to make this dashboard look great on one device, it looks poor on the other due to the difference in screen sizes and the tiles automatically sliding along.
I know I could make different dashboards, but this seems a little unnecessary. Would it be possible to add a tile that effectively directs all the following tiles to populate on the following row? This would complement the spacer tile very nicely in helping to arrange dashboards.
Thanks for the suggestion! We’ve been looking into options for alternative layouts and improvements to the current layout engine.
We appreciate you posting the feedback as it helps us understand the specific use case as well as gauge the importance to the community. And the level of community interest in a particular feature is a key part of how we prioritize features!
In the meantime, one workaround is to create a copy of the dashboard and customize it for your other device. When on the list of dashboards, if you tap the ... to the right of the dashboard, you’ll get an option to Copy the dashboard. I understand having a modified copy may not be ideal, bit it’s better than recreating the dashboard from scratch!
Hey Josh. Thank you for your answer. I appreciate that this “new line” feature may not be the highest priority as there is a readily available workaround.
I have been playing around with sharptools more in the last few days and was hoping to hear your thoughts on a different feature request.
Currently, media tiles support the following actions: refresh, open fullscreen and open hyperlink. If media tiles were also able to support more complex actions, such as opening other dashboards and controlling things then this would add a HUGE amount of personalisation!
Take for example my current setup below, with three tiles to move between my three different dashboards (lights, heating and media). Being able to use a media tile with an action set to open a different dashboard would allow me to make them look however I wanted with an image of my choice. I realise it is possible to move between dashboards via a hyperlink, but this seems to open in a new browser tab and is not as streamlined as the dashboard tile where it all occurs within the same tab.
I appreciate that you probably get requests all the time and that you need to prioritise them. Have you considered a post which outlines popular requests and allows users to vote on each? It would be really useful for users to see what features you are considering/working on. It would also provide you with info on what is most in demand. Sorry if you already have something similar in place and I missed it!
Thanks for the suggestion and for the specific example with screenshots!
The current SharpTools development build includes some enhancements to how hyperlinks are handled in Media Tiles. You’ll have options just like the Hyperlink tile where you can choose to open the link in the Same Window, New Window, or Modal. In the short term, you’ll be able to use the Same Window option to achieve what you are looking for. I expect this to be included in the next release.
That being said, I have it on my short list to add additional action customization to some tile types. Opening a hyperlink in the same window will achieve what you are looking for functionally, but being able to set the action to open a dashboard would be even more polished. (Eg. Faster, no page reload, and easier to configure)
Fantastic, once again it sounds like you are already a step ahead! I’m looking forward to the next build in that case. Already got some media tiles ready to go! Is the development build internal testing only?
@Edward_Coppen the ability to change how a Media Tile hyperlink is handled was included in this week’s release. You can now choose to open a Hyperlink in the same window, new window, or modal.
Morning Josh. I finally got a chance to check out the added hyperlink functionality. Thought I would provide some feedback. To recap, I currently use a “Dashboard Item” to swap between dashboards. This is instantaneous and makes SharpTools feel like a native app.
I just tested the hyperlink functionality of a media tile. I am pleased to say it achieves the task as expected. However, there is a pause as each dashboard loads which completely changes the feel of this process.
I do not know how the dashboard items work, but if this instant swapping between dashboards could be added to media tiles it would improve things still further!
Thanks for the detailed feedback and example, Edward. It’s definitely on the list to enable Media Tiles to directly navigate to another dashboard for that more polished experience you’re after! The example you provided is really helpful - thanks again for sharing!
In the meantime, keep in mind that you can change the icon that’s displayed on a Dashboard tile. I know it’s not exactly what you’re after, but just wanted to offer some alternatives so you could evaluate what works best for you in the short term.
@Edward_Coppen the latest SharpTools.io Beta adds intelligent routing for hyperlinks which are set to open in the same window (including for Media Tiles).
This means that your media tiles which serve as dashboard navigation in your example would have the fast and smooth navigation you are looking for.
You can find more details about the beta program here:
FYI. The Smart Hyperlink Routing feature is now available:
The latest platform release is packed full of other cool features including background images and transparent tiles. You can find more details in the following thread:
