[IxDA Discuss] Details of a Tree Widget

[Lori Landesman]

Hi:

I'm working on the specifics of a tree widget implementation in a web app. Whether a tree widget is appropriate or not in this context is not the issue. What I'm grappling with right now is how the tree behaves under certain circumstances:

Say that you have a hierarchy where A is at the highest level; B is part of A, and C is part of B (sorry if this sounds like a standardized test question). In the tree, it would look like this, when expanded to show C:

- A
  - B
    - C

Let's say that C is highlighted to indicate that it is the selected node, and the right side of the screen shows the content associated with C. Now, the user closes the hierarchy at the A level by clicking the minus sign next to A. That minus becomes a plus sign, and our tree looks like:

+ A

But no other node was ever selected by the user. Does the right side of the screen show C's content? Is A highlighted even though the user never selected it, or is the hidden C still the highlighted node?

I am aware of how Windows Explorer handles this (by highlighting A and showing A's content on the right), but I'm wondering if there are other implementations, or if anyone has ever tested another implementation.

Thanks,
Lori

 
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