Introducing StateRestore
StateRestore is a new extension for DataTables that builds on the stateSave initialisation option by allowing users to save multiple states which can then be restored at a later point. There are of course several initialisation options that allow users to customise the behaviour of the extension to suit their individual needs. The states can be saved in the session storage, or sent over ajax and saved on the server.
You can see an example below - click the Create State button to save the first state:
| Name | Position | Office | Age | Start date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiger Nixon | System Architect | Edinburgh | 61 | 2011-04-25 | $320,800 |
| Garrett Winters | Accountant | Tokyo | 63 | 2011-07-25 | $170,750 |
| Ashton Cox | Junior Technical Author | San Francisco | 66 | 2009-01-12 | $86,000 |
| Cedric Kelly | Senior Javascript Developer | Edinburgh | 22 | 2012-03-29 | $433,060 |
| Airi Satou | Accountant | Tokyo | 33 | 2008-11-28 | $162,700 |
| Brielle Williamson | Integration Specialist | New York | 61 | 2012-12-02 | $372,000 |
| Herrod Chandler | Sales Assistant | San Francisco | 59 | 2012-08-06 | $137,500 |
| Rhona Davidson | Integration Specialist | Tokyo | 55 | 2010-10-14 | $327,900 |
| Colleen Hurst | Javascript Developer | San Francisco | 39 | 2009-09-15 | $205,500 |
| Sonya Frost | Software Engineer | Edinburgh | 23 | 2008-12-13 | $103,600 |
| Jena Gaines | Office Manager | London | 30 | 2008-12-19 | $90,560 |
| Quinn Flynn | Support Lead | Edinburgh | 22 | 2013-03-03 | $342,000 |
| Charde Marshall | Regional Director | San Francisco | 36 | 2008-10-16 | $470,600 |
| Haley Kennedy | Senior Marketing Designer | London | 43 | 2012-12-18 | $313,500 |
| Tatyana Fitzpatrick | Regional Director | London | 19 | 2010-03-17 | $385,750 |
| Michael Silva | Marketing Designer | London | 66 | 2012-11-27 | $198,500 |
| Paul Byrd | Chief Financial Officer (CFO) | New York | 64 | 2010-06-09 | $725,000 |
| Gloria Little | Systems Administrator | New York | 59 | 2009-04-10 | $237,500 |
| Bradley Greer | Software Engineer | London | 41 | 2012-10-13 | $132,000 |
| Dai Rios | Personnel Lead | Edinburgh | 35 | 2012-09-26 | $217,500 |
| Jenette Caldwell | Development Lead | New York | 30 | 2011-09-03 | $345,000 |
| Yuri Berry | Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) | New York | 40 | 2009-06-25 | $675,000 |
| Caesar Vance | Pre-Sales Support | New York | 21 | 2011-12-12 | $106,450 |
| Doris Wilder | Sales Assistant | Sydney | 23 | 2010-09-20 | $85,600 |
| Angelica Ramos | Chief Executive Officer (CEO) | London | 47 | 2009-10-09 | $1,200,000 |
| Gavin Joyce | Developer | Edinburgh | 42 | 2010-12-22 | $92,575 |
| Jennifer Chang | Regional Director | Singapore | 28 | 2010-11-14 | $357,650 |
| Brenden Wagner | Software Engineer | San Francisco | 28 | 2011-06-07 | $206,850 |
| Fiona Green | Chief Operating Officer (COO) | San Francisco | 48 | 2010-03-11 | $850,000 |
| Shou Itou | Regional Marketing | Tokyo | 20 | 2011-08-14 | $163,000 |
| Michelle House | Integration Specialist | Sydney | 37 | 2011-06-02 | $95,400 |
| Suki Burks | Developer | London | 53 | 2009-10-22 | $114,500 |
| Prescott Bartlett | Technical Author | London | 27 | 2011-05-07 | $145,000 |
| Gavin Cortez | Team Leader | San Francisco | 22 | 2008-10-26 | $235,500 |
| Martena Mccray | Post-Sales support | Edinburgh | 46 | 2011-03-09 | $324,050 |
| Unity Butler | Marketing Designer | San Francisco | 47 | 2009-12-09 | $85,675 |
| Howard Hatfield | Office Manager | San Francisco | 51 | 2008-12-16 | $164,500 |
| Hope Fuentes | Secretary | San Francisco | 41 | 2010-02-12 | $109,850 |
| Vivian Harrell | Financial Controller | San Francisco | 62 | 2009-02-14 | $452,500 |
| Timothy Mooney | Office Manager | London | 37 | 2008-12-11 | $136,200 |
| Jackson Bradshaw | Director | New York | 65 | 2008-09-26 | $645,750 |
| Olivia Liang | Support Engineer | Singapore | 64 | 2011-02-03 | $234,500 |
| Bruno Nash | Software Engineer | London | 38 | 2011-05-03 | $163,500 |
| Sakura Yamamoto | Support Engineer | Tokyo | 37 | 2009-08-19 | $139,575 |
| Thor Walton | Developer | New York | 61 | 2013-08-11 | $98,540 |
| Finn Camacho | Support Engineer | San Francisco | 47 | 2009-07-07 | $87,500 |
| Serge Baldwin | Data Coordinator | Singapore | 64 | 2012-04-09 | $138,575 |
| Zenaida Frank | Software Engineer | New York | 63 | 2010-01-04 | $125,250 |
| Zorita Serrano | Software Engineer | San Francisco | 56 | 2012-06-01 | $115,000 |
| Jennifer Acosta | Junior Javascript Developer | Edinburgh | 43 | 2013-02-01 | $75,650 |
| Cara Stevens | Sales Assistant | New York | 46 | 2011-12-06 | $145,600 |
| Hermione Butler | Regional Director | London | 47 | 2011-03-21 | $356,250 |
| Lael Greer | Systems Administrator | London | 21 | 2009-02-27 | $103,500 |
| Jonas Alexander | Developer | San Francisco | 30 | 2010-07-14 | $86,500 |
| Shad Decker | Regional Director | Edinburgh | 51 | 2008-11-13 | $183,000 |
| Michael Bruce | Javascript Developer | Singapore | 29 | 2011-06-27 | $183,000 |
| Donna Snider | Customer Support | New York | 27 | 2011-01-25 | $112,000 |
| Name | Position | Office | Age | Start date | Salary |
Download
The StateRestore extension is available on the DataTables CDN using our download builder and direct access from our CDN (links below). If you prefer to use a package manager You can also install it from NPM and NuGET.
Features
There are two primary buttons used by StateRestore. The first createState is used to create new states. When this button is pressed a new state is created that will reflect the current state of the table. This state can then be accessed by pressing the savedSates button. This will show a collection with a split stateRestore button for each state that has been saved.
The primary action of the split button will reload its respective state back into the DataTable. Triggering the dropdown will display the name of the state and three other secondary action buttons. The first, saveState, will overwrite the state represented by that button with the current state of the table. The second button, deleteState, will delete that state from storage. The third, renameState, will rename the state based on a value entered by the user in a modal that is presented.
Usage
Beyond the core set of features there are a handful of config options for StateRestore. More basic options include disabling the creation of new states, the saving of pre-existing states, the renaming of states and the deletion of states. It is also possible to pre-define states for first time users loading the table.
One major additional feature is the creation modal. This displays a modal to the user when they press the createState button. This will always allow them to set the name of the state, but it is also possible to enable the toggling of which elements of DataTables are saved in that state. You may for example want to only save the SearchBuilder state, but not the column order. stateRestore.toggle allows this to happen. Check this behaviour out in the example below.
| Name | Position | Office | Age | Start date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiger Nixon | System Architect | Edinburgh | 61 | 2011-04-25 | $320,800 |
| Garrett Winters | Accountant | Tokyo | 63 | 2011-07-25 | $170,750 |
| Ashton Cox | Junior Technical Author | San Francisco | 66 | 2009-01-12 | $86,000 |
| Cedric Kelly | Senior Javascript Developer | Edinburgh | 22 | 2012-03-29 | $433,060 |
| Airi Satou | Accountant | Tokyo | 33 | 2008-11-28 | $162,700 |
| Brielle Williamson | Integration Specialist | New York | 61 | 2012-12-02 | $372,000 |
| Herrod Chandler | Sales Assistant | San Francisco | 59 | 2012-08-06 | $137,500 |
| Rhona Davidson | Integration Specialist | Tokyo | 55 | 2010-10-14 | $327,900 |
| Colleen Hurst | Javascript Developer | San Francisco | 39 | 2009-09-15 | $205,500 |
| Sonya Frost | Software Engineer | Edinburgh | 23 | 2008-12-13 | $103,600 |
| Jena Gaines | Office Manager | London | 30 | 2008-12-19 | $90,560 |
| Quinn Flynn | Support Lead | Edinburgh | 22 | 2013-03-03 | $342,000 |
| Charde Marshall | Regional Director | San Francisco | 36 | 2008-10-16 | $470,600 |
| Haley Kennedy | Senior Marketing Designer | London | 43 | 2012-12-18 | $313,500 |
| Tatyana Fitzpatrick | Regional Director | London | 19 | 2010-03-17 | $385,750 |
| Michael Silva | Marketing Designer | London | 66 | 2012-11-27 | $198,500 |
| Paul Byrd | Chief Financial Officer (CFO) | New York | 64 | 2010-06-09 | $725,000 |
| Gloria Little | Systems Administrator | New York | 59 | 2009-04-10 | $237,500 |
| Bradley Greer | Software Engineer | London | 41 | 2012-10-13 | $132,000 |
| Dai Rios | Personnel Lead | Edinburgh | 35 | 2012-09-26 | $217,500 |
| Jenette Caldwell | Development Lead | New York | 30 | 2011-09-03 | $345,000 |
| Yuri Berry | Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) | New York | 40 | 2009-06-25 | $675,000 |
| Caesar Vance | Pre-Sales Support | New York | 21 | 2011-12-12 | $106,450 |
| Doris Wilder | Sales Assistant | Sydney | 23 | 2010-09-20 | $85,600 |
| Angelica Ramos | Chief Executive Officer (CEO) | London | 47 | 2009-10-09 | $1,200,000 |
| Gavin Joyce | Developer | Edinburgh | 42 | 2010-12-22 | $92,575 |
| Jennifer Chang | Regional Director | Singapore | 28 | 2010-11-14 | $357,650 |
| Brenden Wagner | Software Engineer | San Francisco | 28 | 2011-06-07 | $206,850 |
| Fiona Green | Chief Operating Officer (COO) | San Francisco | 48 | 2010-03-11 | $850,000 |
| Shou Itou | Regional Marketing | Tokyo | 20 | 2011-08-14 | $163,000 |
| Michelle House | Integration Specialist | Sydney | 37 | 2011-06-02 | $95,400 |
| Suki Burks | Developer | London | 53 | 2009-10-22 | $114,500 |
| Prescott Bartlett | Technical Author | London | 27 | 2011-05-07 | $145,000 |
| Gavin Cortez | Team Leader | San Francisco | 22 | 2008-10-26 | $235,500 |
| Martena Mccray | Post-Sales support | Edinburgh | 46 | 2011-03-09 | $324,050 |
| Unity Butler | Marketing Designer | San Francisco | 47 | 2009-12-09 | $85,675 |
| Howard Hatfield | Office Manager | San Francisco | 51 | 2008-12-16 | $164,500 |
| Hope Fuentes | Secretary | San Francisco | 41 | 2010-02-12 | $109,850 |
| Vivian Harrell | Financial Controller | San Francisco | 62 | 2009-02-14 | $452,500 |
| Timothy Mooney | Office Manager | London | 37 | 2008-12-11 | $136,200 |
| Jackson Bradshaw | Director | New York | 65 | 2008-09-26 | $645,750 |
| Olivia Liang | Support Engineer | Singapore | 64 | 2011-02-03 | $234,500 |
| Bruno Nash | Software Engineer | London | 38 | 2011-05-03 | $163,500 |
| Sakura Yamamoto | Support Engineer | Tokyo | 37 | 2009-08-19 | $139,575 |
| Thor Walton | Developer | New York | 61 | 2013-08-11 | $98,540 |
| Finn Camacho | Support Engineer | San Francisco | 47 | 2009-07-07 | $87,500 |
| Serge Baldwin | Data Coordinator | Singapore | 64 | 2012-04-09 | $138,575 |
| Zenaida Frank | Software Engineer | New York | 63 | 2010-01-04 | $125,250 |
| Zorita Serrano | Software Engineer | San Francisco | 56 | 2012-06-01 | $115,000 |
| Jennifer Acosta | Junior Javascript Developer | Edinburgh | 43 | 2013-02-01 | $75,650 |
| Cara Stevens | Sales Assistant | New York | 46 | 2011-12-06 | $145,600 |
| Hermione Butler | Regional Director | London | 47 | 2011-03-21 | $356,250 |
| Lael Greer | Systems Administrator | London | 21 | 2009-02-27 | $103,500 |
| Jonas Alexander | Developer | San Francisco | 30 | 2010-07-14 | $86,500 |
| Shad Decker | Regional Director | Edinburgh | 51 | 2008-11-13 | $183,000 |
| Michael Bruce | Javascript Developer | Singapore | 29 | 2011-06-27 | $183,000 |
| Donna Snider | Customer Support | New York | 27 | 2011-01-25 | $112,000 |
| Name | Position | Office | Age | Start date | Salary |
The full list of configuration options can be found in the documentation.
Layout
StateRestore is initialised and inserted into the page using the Buttons extension. See the Buttons documentation for how best to include them in your page. You can find documentation for all of the StateRestore buttons here.
Feedback
At the time of release, StateRestore is not compatible with ColReorder, KeyTable or SearchPanes. For ColReorder and SearchPanes, this is something that we are going to rectify in the future, but it requires some major rewriting of code. Work on this has already started, and we hope to be able to release a version with even greater compatibility in the near future.
While this is only a 1.0.0 release, there has been a large amount of work and testing over the last few months to ensure that StateRestore is a strong extension which is ready for use in production environments.
I hope that StateRestore can enhance your projects, and as always we welcome feedback that you may have on this initial release of StateRestore in the forums, as well as any other features that you think would benefit the extension in the future!