dropdown list over wan slow to load

[blentz]

Hi,

Using Server 11 v2, client 11 v2 ...client in city A Server in city B ...vpn connection ipsec...window environment. Everything works fine with all my layouts except for the layout that has a dropdown list to choose a customer to create a ticket. When I click on the dropdown arrow to choose from the list there is a time period lag and then several customers on the list appear to load ready for selection...if I scroll down the list then it will go blank and there is a time delay and then more load ...this process continues until all the the customers are loaded from A to Z ...Once all the customers in the dropdown list appear to be loaded then I can scroll up and down the list with ease ...

Just 2 tables involved with simple key - foreign key relationship ...about 2500 + customers and shouldn't grow much more ...they have been imported for testing...communications between locations is good ...we run financial software over it and it is fine.

Any suggestions on how the get the end result of scrolling up and down with ease without having this time lag to load and scroll ...load and scroll...repeatedly until all appear to be loaded.

Thanks

James

[cpe1704tks]

blentz,

I am sure someone else has a better solution, but you can try to break it down by using a location then the name. If you break it down by selecting the location(state or city)first then the entire 2500 names do not have to be seen only those names from that region you selected. The value list will by updated dynamically. Link

Let me know if this helps

cpe1704tks

[Vaughan]

2,500 items is too long for a drop down list anyway.

Use a filtered portal to make a picker style interface.

[blentz]

I'll have to see if I can narrow it down by location. Originally, i was thinking I couldn't but these are commodity traders to they may have specific clients they are used to dealing with on a regular basis ... maybe I could use the traders name as the deciding factor ...

thanks

[blentz]

Could you explain a little more what you mean by a filtered portal with picker style. I have some portals in my program ...and maybe I just don't understand all the terms yet.

thanks

[cpe1704tks]

blentz,

This example I made uses linked drop downs. If you go to the tickets layout and create a new ticket and select the location it will be a drop down list that has Boston, New York and Chicago. Then after you select a city go to the customer field and select a name. You see it only shows 2 names(if you chose NY or Chicago and 1 if you chose Boston) but not all 5 names in the database.You can use a category, zip, eye color, whatever you want for the first drop down. I chose to use the city because it is easy to remember and this is where the client address is. This drop down list is achieved by doing a relationship in the relationship panel. Then making value lists. Here is a Link That descripes how to make the value list from scratch. You can use the values you already have in you customers table. Hope this helps. I would like to see Vaughn's idea if he can post it.

Linked_Dropdown.zip