PORTWARE. Modules

The interface layer

The tab strip, the side panel, application memory, two search layers, mobile fit and a shared icon library.

In the handbook: chapter 2

  • No getting lost between screensThe tab strip keeps every screen where you left it.
  • You find what you look forTwo separate search layers for menus and records.
  • The same system on the phoneThe top bar and forms fit the small screen.
The home screen: the application rail, the top bar and the bottom tab strip
The home screen: the application rail, the top bar and the bottom tab strip

Where it appears: The top bar, the bottom strip and the application panel — on every screen

All the differences from the standard core come from a single observation: people work on several screens at once all day and do not want to start from a lost place every time they come back.

The tab strip

The strip at the bottom of the screen is the in-system equivalent of browser tabs. The + at the end of the strip opens the current screen as a second tab.

A tab carries not only the screen but the filters too: if you close a facet, switch to another tab and come back, the facet you closed is still closed. Every tab remembers its place, and this is kept on the server per user — reloading the page does not break the tabs.

Tabs are independent: clicking an application in the side panel takes the tab you are in there; it does not jump you to another tab.

The application panel

The applications menu is not a drop-down box but a fixed panel that opens to the left, and it pushes the content to the right instead of covering it. It can be pinned, it has an application search inside, everyone starts with the same home default and every user can change it for themselves. It does not come into play on small screens.

Application memory

The application name in the top bar is not decoration but a button: a small dot and a thin frame say that it is clickable, and when clicked it returns to that application's main screen. The dot's colour is the application's own colour.

Two searches

WhereWhat it searches
Global searchIn the top barSystem-wide: records, menus, applications
Module searchIn the form control barOnly the records of the model you are on

Above these, every list screen has its own search box, filters and grouping — that is the most powerful one.

Icon library

Icons are not scattered files but live in a library shared across the company; if the same image is uploaded twice, it is de-duplicated by its digest. Record pickers, chatter folders, SOTION pages and the media box use the same picker.

The help button: the handbook and this screen's chapter, both in a new tab
The help button: the handbook and this screen's chapter, both in a new tab
On a phone the top bar narrows and search shrinks to an icon
On a phone the top bar narrows and search shrinks to an icon
ModuleWhat it doesVersion
PORTWARE TabsKeep several screens open at once and switch between them from a strip along the bottom, the way a browser does.19.0.1.8.4 live 19.0.1.7.2
Web Apps Side PanelOpen the apps menu as a left side panel that pushes content, with a session pin and a divider.19.0.1.9.0 live
App Icons in MenuDisplay app icons in the navbar apps dropdown menu + PORTWARE Settings/Apps icons19.0.1.1.0 live
PORTWARE App Sidebar SearchSearch box in app sidebar for quick navigation19.0.1.0.0 live
PORTWARE App ResumeEach app reopens on the screen you left it on, and the app name in the top bar is visibly the way back to its home screen.19.0.1.5.1 live 19.0.1.5.0
PORTWARE SearchGlobal and module-level search bars for PORTWARE19.0.1.6.1 live 19.0.1.6.0
PORTWARE Mobile & PWAMobile layout contract for the shared navbar and chatter bars, plus PWA install and push-notification onboarding.19.0.1.12.0 live 19.0.1.6.3
PORTWARE Icon LibraryShared, reusable icon/logo library with a unified icon picker19.0.6.1.0 live 19.0.2.0.0