Building an admin dashboard sounds easy enough. Until you really sit down and build it. You begin with a navigation menu, then on to dashboards, data grids, forms, charts, and all the tiny things that make an application easy to use. Soon enough you are spending a lot of development time building the things that most commercial applications need regardless.
When you are working with Ext JS you don’t have to start from a blank slate. The framework has a built-in Admin Dashboard template, providing you a ready-made application structure to work on. It gives you a starting point, see how the pieces fit together and modify it to suit your project needs.
This is quite beneficial if you want to get the basic interface up and running without spending too much time building every single element from scratch.
In this post we’ll look at where the built-in Ext JS Admin Dashboard is, how to construct an application from it, and how to customize it when all is up and running.
What is the Built-in Ext JS Admin Layout?
Simply said, the Ext JS Admin Dashboard is a place for developers to start when they need to construct an admin application. It combines typical interface elements and shows how they could be put together to a working dashboard.
Think of the sort of features you might require in a business application: navigation menus, data tables, charts, reporting panels and multiple displays for managing information. Rather than building each of them from the ground up, you may use an existing framework and modify it to your needs.
The template is helpful for internal business tools, reporting applications, data management systems and other projects that require users to have information access and be able to execute operations via a central interface.
An ext js 7 admin template can also assist developers see how the various components of the framework interact together. You get an actual sample to explore, rather than having to figure out the full application structure on your own.
What Do You Need Before You Start?
Before you start using the template, make sure you have the basic development setup ready.
You will need to have the Ext JS SDK and its command-line tools installed on your machine. The SDK comprises the framework files, examples, resources and application templates. The command-line tools are used to generate, build and run Ext JS applications.
You will also need a coding editor and a contemporary web browser to work on the application and test your modifications.
Before you get started, make sure your command-line tools are compatible with your Ext JS version. It is also crucial to be aware of the licensing requirements of the distribution you are using, particularly if you are dealing with a GPL or commercial version.
Now that you have your environment, it’s time to find the Admin Dashboard template.
Step 1: Locate the Admin Dashboard Template
First, open the folder where you installed the Ext JS SDK.
Look for a folder called templates in the SDK folder. This is often where the application templates provided with your Ext JS package are located.
For an Ext JS 7 installation, the Admin Dashboard might be found in a route like:
ext-7.x.x/templates/admin-dashboard
The exact version number will vary based on the SDK you have loaded.
Open folder admin-dashboard and see the files inside it. Here you can find the application structure and parameters that will help you construct your dashboard.
Can't find the folder? “Don’t worry. Verify your SDK directory structure and the documentation for your specific version. The placement of the template may vary depending on the distribution.
Step 2: Verify Configuration Before App Generation
Before you start building the application, it becomes sense to spend a few minutes looking at the template's configuration files. A little inspection now will save you a lot of unnecessary hassle later.
One file you should look out for is app.json. It contains critical settings for the application and configuration information required when the application is produced and loaded.
In some Ext JS 7 GPL Admin Dashboard configurations, update the reference to the framework directory in app.json from ${ext.dir} to ${framework.dir}.
This helps the program to locate the framework files correctly in that specific environment.
But don't modify this without validating your own installation first. Configuration requirements may vary based on the SDK version and distribution. Your present setup may already be correct.
Step 3: Build Your Admin Dashboard Application
Now that you’ve found the template and confirmed the configuration, you can construct your application.
Open a terminal or command prompt and use the command structure below:
extjs -sd /path/to/ext-js-sdk generate app -s /path/to/ext-js-sdk/templates/admin-dashboard AdminDashboard ./admin-dashboard
The command may appear a bit confusing at first but here's what it accomplishes.
The SDK path tells the command where your Ext JS installation lives. The template path is pointing to Admin Dashboard folder. Your new application will be called AdminDashboard, with the namespace AdminDashboard, and the produced project will be saved to ./admin-dashboard.
Change the sample paths to the real locations on your PC.
After the command is successfully run, the command-line tool generates a new application based on the Admin Dashboard template.
And this is the big advantage here. You really have an application structure to work with instead of having to set all the essential bits yourself.
Step 4. Understand the Application Structure
Before you begin making changes, spend a little time to investigate the folders and files in your freshly produced application.
You don't have to understand all the files right away. But knowing where things are makes it much easier to tailor.
A lot of the common application code goes into the app folder, including models, views, view controllers, view models, stores and controllers. These are the pieces that help to handle the data of the program, its appearance and behavior.
You will also see the classic and modern directories. These include code and resources relevant to the toolkit utilized by your application's interface approach.
The resources folder will contain elements like photos and fonts. The sass folder contains variables, mixins and stylistic resources.
You will see some other files periodically. app.js is used to start the program, app.json has the application configuration and index.html is the default web page. .sencha This directory contains configuration and build related files used by the development tools.
And once you know this structure, it is much easier to identify the proper spot when you want to add a feature or update anything.
Step 5: Run the Dashboard Locally
You have generated the application and you have seen the structure. So now let's examine how everything looks in the browser.
Open a terminal in your new application directory and execute:
extjs app watch
The command-line tool will begin the development build process and provide you with a local URL to view the application.
Open that URL in your browser . Now you should see Admin Dashboard interface.
If the application doesn't load correctly, the first place to examine is the terminal output. It normally points to you what has gone wrong. It can be a problem with the SDK path, a configuration issue or a missing requirement.
Ensure that the command-line tools are installed successfully and that the application is pointing to the correct Ext JS SDK.
Step 6: Customize the Dashboard for Your Project
Now it’s time to make the template your own.
The default dashboard provides you with a nice starting structure, but your finished application doesn’t need to look or behave precisely the same. Consider what your users really need and make modifications accordingly.
You might wish to move the navigation menu around, put in your own business data instead of the sample dashboard material, add data grids or include forms to manage records. You can also customize the charts, filters, menus, and other interface elements to fit how your program will be used.
You don’t have to do everything at once. Keep the useful stuff, delete the stuff you don't want, and incrementally add the functionality your project needs.
Bear in mind that some components may be coupled to other portions of the application. So if you are going to delete files or change shared components make sure that nothing else depends on them.
Make incremental modifications and test the app along the way. It is a much easier way to catch problems than trying to address a few things at once.
Buy an Ext JS Admin Template or Use the Built-In Template?
It actually depends on what you require for your project.
If you already have the Ext JS SDK and want a flexible beginning point, the built-in Admin Dashboard is a fantastic starting point. It provides you with an existing application structure and allows you to investigate how the framework components interact.
But what if you want to get something more specific?
Some projects require a particular visual language, some pre-made panels or a dashboard with functionality that are not part of the basic design. In certain circumstances, it might make sense to look into third-party possibilities and see if buying extjs admin template solutions makes sense.
Before you purchase a template, make sure you study what you are acquiring. Does it support your version of Ext JS? Is the documentation easy to read? Can you change the components without having to rewrite big parts of the code? Is the licensing terms and update agreements clear?
A pre made template should save you development time not generate another set of problems to fix.
The right decision is the one that suits your project, your team's skills and how much customization you want to accomplish.
Conclusion: A Great Place to Start Your Next Ext JS Project
You don’t need to design an admin application from scratch. The Ext JS Admin Dashboard is built-in and provides developers a solid platform to explore, modify and adapt to suit diverse project requirements.
Once you know the processes, it is quite straightforward from finding the template in the SDK, to verifying its setup, to building the application, to running it locally and making it your own.
The template is a starting point, not the end article, and that is what matters. Understand its structure. Understand how the parts work and build up the dashboard progressively as per the needs of your users.
ExtNukes is a resource for developers to explore Ext JS resources, templates and solutions for building administrative applications. Whether you are looking for a ext js 7 admin template, comparing ready-made dashboard options or considering if you should buy extjs admin template solutions for your next project, please contact ExtNukes. Let’s steer you in the correct direction and make your next Ext JS development project a little bit easier.