The ProtoView Explorer control is a 32-bit ActiveX control which gives users the ability to navigate their way through complex information. Based on the standard Explorer that is part of the Windows desktop, the ProtoView Explorer uses a tree view pane on the left that can display information for each node of the tree in a pane on the right. The pane on the right can be either a text edit view or a list view that displays information as a table.
The ProtoView Data Explorer Control is a general purpose component that is designed for use in applications that need to display information that allows the user to drill down on data. The data can be organized in a tree-like hierarchy that can expand or contract under user control. The tree is organized with a root at the top to which branch nodes are attached. For each branch node there may be additional branches attached until finally, there are nodes which have no further branches or descendants. These nodes are called leaves. Data which naturally falls into hierarchical relationships can easily be represented using this type of tree structure. For instance, a customer database can be organized according to where the customers live. These regions can be broken down into categories as shown below.
National State County City International Country State/Province City
Once the user selects a node that is specific enough to have data associated with it, that data is displayed in the right hand pane of the Explorer control. Other applications that can easily be modeled using the explorer design are: Organizing lists by subject matter, organizing objects by category, organizing events by dates, representing hierarchical organizations of objects. The number of real world applications that can be based on this model is practically endless. In fact, many new applications for Windows now use this type of interface because users are familiar with it and find it simple and intuitive to use.