Appendix E. Grid Toolbar Reference

Every data grid in NESSviewer — Files, Dashboard, Analyze, Software, Ports, Reports, POA&M Update — sits under the same toolbar. Learning it once applies everywhere, which is why this is a single reference rather than repeated in each chapter.

The strip is two groups. On the left is text only: a count of selected rows with any action button that applies to them, then the record count. On the right are the command buttons, which are always fully visible however narrow the window.

Note

Every command except View is an icon with no caption. They are listed below in the order they appear, left to right, so you can count along the row. Hovering any of them shows the tooltip quoted here.

E.1 The buttons

#	Button	Tooltip	What it does
1	Clear Filters	Click to clear all grid filters	Removes every column filter and resets the filter controls. Also returns the minimum group size to “any size”. It does not undo Largest groups first.
2	Reset Grid	Click to reset grid layout to original state	Returns the grid to the layout it shipped with and discards the automatically saved one, so the next launch starts from defaults too. Saved named layouts are not touched. There is no confirmation.
3	Freeze Columns	Click to choose grid columns to freeze	Opens the freeze chooser.
4	Column Chooser	Click to choose grid columns	Opens the column chooser.
5	Manage Layouts	Click to save and load grid layouts	Opens the layout manager.
6	View	Display options for this grid	Opens the View menu. This is the only button with a text label.
7	Export to Excel	Export grid data to Excel	Builds an .xlsx and opens a Save dialog. Styled green.
8	Export to CSV	Export grid data to CSV	The same as a .csv. Not present on every grid.

Important

The Excel and CSV buttons use the same icon; only the colour differs. The green one is Excel. Where a grid offers both, that is the only way to tell them apart at a glance.

While an export is running, a spinner appears with Exporting to Excel… or Exporting to CSV… and both buttons are disabled.

E.2 The View menu

Option	What it does
Auto-fit row height	Off gives compact single-line rows. On lets cell text wrap, growing rows to at most ten lines before truncating — and a truncated cell still shows everything on hover.
Open details on row click	Whether clicking a row opens that page’s details panel. On by default. If row clicks have stopped opening details, this is why.
Duplicates only (2+)	Hides groups containing only one entry — shorthand for a minimum group size of 2.
Minimum group size	A stepper, 1 to 99. Hides groups smaller than this; 1 means any size.
Largest groups first	Orders groups by how many entries they hold instead of by value.

The group options appear under a Groups heading and carry this note, which is worth reading once:

Applies while the grid is grouped. A group’s size is what it directly contains — its subgroups when you group by more than one column, otherwise its rows. Counts come from the loaded data, not the current filter.

Note

All five settings are remembered per grid between sessions, so a change on Analyze does not affect the Dashboard.

Tip

Group by a column and set Duplicates only (2+) to find repeats — the same software on many hosts, the same plugin across an enclave. Because the group sizes are counted from the loaded data rather than the current filter, searching the grid does not distort the result.

E.3 The record count

The text at the left of the toolbar takes one of four forms:

Form	When
Total Records: {n}	Normal.
Filtered: {n} (Total Records: {m})	A column filter is active.
Groups: {g} / Total Records: {n}	Grouped, unfiltered. Groups counts top-level groups only.
Groups: {g} / Filtered: {n} (Total Records: {m})	Grouped and filtered.

Selected rows are reported separately as {n} items selected, alongside whichever action button that page offers for a selection — Unload on the Files page, Update Selected and Remove Selected on POA&M Update, Update and Remove on the tracked lists.

E.4 Exporting

	Excel	CSV
Columns	Visible columns only, in your current order	The same
Rows	As displayed — your filter and sort are honoured	The same
Grouping	Preserved as collapsible outline rows, each headed Group value (count)	Flattened — rows come out in group order but the headers and counts are lost
Formatting	Bold header, frozen header row, alternating row shading, auto-fitted columns	Plain CSV, UTF-8
Long cells	Split across extra rows, each marked […continued in next row]	Not split

You always choose where the file goes — a Save dialog opens with a suggested name, and nothing is written until you confirm. Each page suggests its own name; those are listed in the relevant chapters.

Important

Selecting rows does not narrow an export. Ticking twelve rows and exporting still writes everything the filter allows. To export a subset, filter the grid down to it.

Note

A successful export produces no message and does not open the file — the spinner simply stops. Only a failure speaks up, as Export to Excel failed or Export to CSV failed with the reason.

Values beginning with =, -, + or @ are always written as text, never as formulas, so nothing in exported scan data can execute when the workbook is opened.

E.5 The choosers

Column Chooser

A checkbox per column, labelled with its header. Ticking or unticking shows or hides that column immediately, while the dialog is still open; Show All re-ticks everything. There is no OK or Cancel — changes are saved as you make them.

Freeze Columns

The same shape. Freezing pins a column so it stays in view while you scroll sideways, which is what keeps the hostname visible on the wider grids. Unfreeze All clears every freeze.

Manage Layouts

Type a name and press Save to store the grid exactly as it stands — which columns are visible, their order and widths, what is frozen, and the active filter, sort and grouping. Saved layouts are listed beneath, each with Load and a ✕ to delete.

Element	Behaviour
Layout name…	The box to type into. Enter is the same as pressing Save.
Save	Saves under that name. Saving over an existing name overwrites it without warning.
Load	Applies that layout. It may take a moment — the grid rebuilds its columns.
✕	Deletes that layout. Immediately, with no confirmation.
No saved layouts yet.	Shown when the list is empty.

Note

There is no rename. To rename a layout, load it, save it under the new name, and delete the old entry.

Tip

Named layouts are the fastest way to switch between jobs on the same grid — a triage layout showing severity and EPSS, a POA&M layout showing status and aging, an evidence layout showing plugin output. Saved layouts are kept per machine, so they do not travel with the scan files.

E.6 Selection, grouping and tooltips

• Row checkboxes. The header checkbox selects every visible row — it respects the current filter — and shows a dash when only some are selected. Shift-click a row checkbox to extend a range. When the grid is grouped, each group header has its own checkbox covering everything beneath it.

• Grouping is done from the grid itself, by dragging a column header into the group area rather than from the toolbar. The toolbar only controls how groups are sized and ordered.

• Cell tooltips appear on hover on the columns each page nominates, showing the full untruncated text. Blank cells show nothing rather than an empty bubble.

E.7 Dialog chrome

The choosers and most overlays share the same frame: a dimmed page behind a rounded card whose header can be dragged to move it and double-clicked to maximise. The bottom-right grip resizes it (Drag to resize) and the ✕ closes it (Close (Esc)). Each dialog remembers the size you left it at.