Working with Forms

Form Properties

Basic Information

Name - Name of the Form
Use this form for -

This option appears for all forms except the default form (which is usable for everything).

Select one of:

Managing Records - View and update records on line
Printing Records - Use the form to generate a PDF
Web Forms - The form can be used as the basis for a Web Form
Mobile Access - View the form from a mobile device

Advanced Options

This section does not appear for a Mobile Access form.

Choose the additional functionality you want users to have when viewing a record:

Show Field Hints

Choose whether or not to show field hints when the form is displayed to add, view, or update/edit a record. (The default is to show field hints that are present.)

If this option is enabled and there is text in the Description for a field in the Form, then:

That text appears as on-screen help when the user's cursor is over the field name.
In each Form, it becomes possible to specify the Field Hint to use for that field, in that form. (That text is then displayed as the field hint, overriding the field description.)

Note: The Field Hint option is available for all field types, except for Custom Control and Lookup-Derived fields.

Show Actions - In the sidebar, display the drop down that contains additional actions.
Include Print Action - If the action list is enabled, this option includes the print-record action in the dropdown.

Show Tasks - In the sidebar, display any Tasks associated with the current record.

Show Files/Attachments - In the sidebar, display a list of files and attachments that were uploaded as part of this record. (This option is only relevant to Cases.)

Show Processes - In the sidebar, display any Processes that are attached to this record, and their status.

Show Hours Logged - In the sidebar, display the section used to show and record the number of hours spent on the current record.

Show history – In the sidebar, display the history of this record.

Show notes - In the sidebar, display the notes of this record.

Form Layout

When you click on a Form, what you see is the form layout--the way the fields are arranged, and the way they are divided into Sections.

Add a Field to the Layout

Drag a field from the sidebar to insert into the Form layout. You can drag the field the position you want in any of the sections.

Remove a Field from the Layout

To Remove a Field from a Layout:

In the Forms tab, hover the mouse over the field to remove, and click the Remove Field button in the floating toolbar

The field is removed from the layout, but it remains available in the object. Fields can be reused in this layout or any new layouts.

Clone a Form

You create a new Form by cloning an existing one. When a new Form is created, the layout design is completely customizable, and can include any combination of standard elements and Object fields.

To clone a form:

1. Go to > Customization > Objects > {object} > Forms

2. Click on the form you want to copy.

3. At the top of the page, click [Clone Layout]

4. Specify Name - The name that appears in the Forms list

5. Specify how you will use this Form:

Managing Records - An interactive form for use when adding, viewing, or updating records in the platform GUI.
Printing Records - A form that used to generate a PDF using the Print a Record operation.
Web Forms - A form that will become a Web Form in an external site.

This option only appears for a non-default form, and only when the object is designated as Web Enabled in the Object Information section of the Object Properties.
When a Web Form is accessed from a Mobile device, a Mobile-Optimized version of the Web Form is used

Mobile Access - A form that is used for Mobile Access.

(This option only appears for a non-default form, and only when Mobile Access is enabled.)

Note: Mobile Access forms have a fixed, two-column format. Converting an existing form to Mobile Access causes the form layout to be rearranged into that format.

6. Specify additional Advanced Options

The available options depend on the type of Form you created.

7. Click [Save]

The new form is created. You continue to see the form you created the clone from.

To see the new form, select it from the Object's list of Forms, which now contains the new entry.

To determine who will use the new form:

Go to > Customization > Objects > {object} > Forms
Click [Forms Assignment]
Click [Edit]
Select the roles will use the new form.
Click [Save]

Learn more: Forms Assignment

Delete a Form

Click > Customization > Objects > {object} > Forms
Click on the Form you want to delete.
At the top of the page, click [Delete]
Click the [Delete] button
Click OK to confirm deletion of this layout

Working with Form Sections

Layout Rules

Layout Rules provide the ability to create dynamic Forms that adapt and offer additional options as data is entered.

About Layout Rules

As data is entered into a form, Layout Rules can be used to hide or show fields, buttons, and form sections, or assign an initial value to a field. They can also be used to display a message.

Sample use cases:

Show a discount button when an amount reaches some value
Hide a section to prevent access to data until after a specific date and time.

Conditions and Actions

Layout Rules use an IF...THEN...ELSE model to customize a form layout:

IF <some condition> is TRUE

THEN do <some action>

ELSE do <some other action>

To specify a <condition> you use the Formula Builder to create a [Formula Expression]. That expression use record fields and fields in related fields.

Either a THEN clause or an ELSE clause can be specified, or both.

The possible Actions are shown below.

Considerations

Each Layout Rule can include multiple actions
Actions are executed in the order in which they are displayed
Actions can be added, edited, deleted or reordered
Sections can be opened based on a condition
A condition can be applied on Add, View or Update of a Record
To be available for use in a Layout Rule, the field must not be hidden in the layout.
(If it should be hidden at times, then hide it using a Layout Rule.)
Multi Object Lookup fields cannot be used to specify criteria for a Layout Rule.
Learn more: Multi Object Lookup#Considerations

Note:
A field can be referenced in either:

a. A section for which Show Empty Fields in View has been disabled
(using Advanced Options in a Section), or

b. A Layout Rule condition.

But it cannot be referenced in both places.

The Reason: If the field is empty, the server removes it from the page. The Layout Rule, meanwhile, is a JavaScript function in the page. When the Layout Rule tries to test that field, an error occurs.

Working with Layout Rules

Users that have the Customize Objects permission can edit Layout Rules.

Adding or Editing a Layout Rule

Click the [Layout Rule] button at the top of the page.
Click the [Add New Rule] button to add a new Layout Rule,
or click the name of an existing rule to edit it.
Fill in the layout rule settings.
Click [Save]

Settings

Name

Name of the Layout Rule

Enabled

Check the box to enable the Layout Rule, or uncheck it to disable the Layout Rule

Description

Description of the rule

Apply rule during

Executes the Layout Rule when any of the selected actions are taken on a record in the Object
Add Record

View Record

Update Record

On Success do not continue to next Rule

Checkbox, unchecked by default
If checked, and this rule is Triggered, then any rules that follow are not processed

The order of processing rules is controlled with the [Reorder Rule] button.

If (specify the condition...)

Use the Formula Builder to define a Boolean expression that evaluates to true or false.
Optionally, specify an action to take when the expression is true

Optionally, specify an action to take when the expression is false.

Actions are displayed in rows which can be added, edited, deleted or reordered.

Actions

Show/Hide Sections or Fields

Disable/Enable Fields

Assign Value to Field
(Choose a field. Use the Formula Builder to create a value expression.)

Setup Value in Picklist

Display Message:

Once During Form Save Only

When Condition Matches

Show/Hide Buttons

Make Fields Required

Make Fields Not Required

Consideration:

The more the layout rules, the lesser the performance.

The following table explains the Field Display Type available in the Add New Rule page and the Actions available.

Field Display Types	Add New Rule	Actions
Field Display Types	Add New Rule	Show or Hide Sections and Fields	Disable or Enable Fields	Assign Value to Fields	Setup Value in Picklist	Display Message	Show or Hide Buttons	Make Fields Required	Make Fields Not Required
Auto Number	✔	✔	✔	✕	✕	✔	✔	✕	✕
Checkbox	✔	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Currency	✔	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Date	✔	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Date Time	✔	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Dependent Picklist	✔	✔	✔	✕	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Email Address	✔	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
External Lookup	✕	✔	✕	✕	✕	✔	✔	✕	✕
File Field	✕	✔	✔	✕	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Formula	✕	✔	✔	✕	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Geolocation	✔	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Global Picklist	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Image Field	✕	✔	✔	✕	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Lookup	✕	✔	✔	✕	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
*Lookup-Derived Field	✕	✔	✕	✕	✕	✕	✕	✕	✕
Multiple Checkboxes	✕	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Multi Object Lookup	✕	✔	✔	✕	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Multi Select Picklist	✕	✔	✔	✕	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Number	✔	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Number with decimals	✔	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Percentage	✔	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Phone/Fax	✔	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Picklist	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
Radio Buttons	✔	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Rich Text Area	✕	✔	✕	✕	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Text Area	✔	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Text Field	✔	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Time	✔	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
URL	✔	✔	✔	✔	✕	✔	✔	✔	✔
Rollup Summary	✔	✔	✔	✕	✕	✔	✔	✕	✕

Note: Lookup-Derived fields cannot be created manually by the user. To configure lookup-derived fields, see Lookup-Derived Fields.

Reorder Layout Rules

Click the [Layout Rule] button at the top of the page.
Click the [Reorder Rule] button to change the order in which rules are executed.

Using Enumerated Picklists in Layout Rules

Layout Rule criteria can be specified using Enumerated Picklist Values. The Display Label is not considered valid for criteria in Layout Rules.

Form Scripts

About Form Scripts

Form Scripting lets you specify JavaScript code to execute when a Form is loaded or saved.

JavaScript code can be invoked at these form-level events:

On Load

This event happens when the form loads
By default, the On Load scripts are triggered on any record action (View, Add, Update)

Optionally, invoke the script on a specific action (View or Add or Update)

Learn more: Trigger on a Specific Action

On Save

This event happens when a user clicks the [Submit] button on a form
At this event, optionally perform custom front-end validations before sending the data to the server
Return false to cancel the save

Reusable Script Functions

Available to be called from the On Load or On Save event form scripts
Also available to be called from the On Change and On Focus event field scripts

Learn more:

Compare to Post Selection JavaScript and Field Scripting
Using AJAX and REST to communicate with the platform

Working with Form Scripts

Note: Please note that all the examples listed in this page are limited to the legacy AgileApps UI and not the new runtime AgileApps UI.

Editing Form Scripts

Follow these steps to add or change scripting in a form:

Note: To run the JavaScript in the LongJump UI and the legacy AgileApps UI, enter the script in the Legacy UI Script tab. To run the JavaScript in the New AgileApps UI, enter the script in the New UI Script tab.

Click [Form Script]
Click [Edit]
Enter or change the JavaScript in On Load Script, On Save Script, and/or Reusable Script Functions
Click [Save]

Writing JavaScript

Using JavaScript, you can

Reference Fields in the current form.
Use AJAX and REST to communicate with the platform.

On Load Examples

These examples perform operations when a form is loaded.

Add a Help Button to an Arbitrary Form

This code works for forms in all objects, including Cases, Tasks, and custom objects. And it works when adding a new record, as well as when viewing an existing record. For information about adding a help button to a form, see the tech community article Adding a Custom Button to an Arbitrary Form using Form Script.

Convert a Date

Create readable date string from the current date for display in the order_date field.

var v1 = new Date(); 
var v2 = new Array('Sun', 'Mon', 'Tues', 'Wed', 'Thu', 'Fri', 'Sat'); 
var v3 = new Array('Jan', 'Feb', 'Mar', 'Apr', 'May', 'Jun', 
                   'Jul', 'Aug', 'Sep', 'Oct', 'Nov', 'Dec'); 
date_string = v2[v1.getDay()] + " " + v3[v1.getMonth()] + " " + v1.getDate(); 
setTextFieldValue(_sdForm, "order_date", date_string);

Trigger on a Specific Action

To invoke a script On Load + Action (View, Update, Add or Clone a record):

Note: For new UI, see the section Variables and Methods Introduced in the Revamped UI in JavaScript Field Type Reference for New AgileApps User Interface

Trigger on record View:

var action = _sdForm.get(0).a.value;
if ( action == "view") {
   // java script to be triggered on the view of the record only
   ...
}

Trigger on record Update:

var action = _sdForm.get(0).a.value;
if ( action == "update") {
   // java script to be triggered on the update of the record only
   ...
}

Trigger on record Add or Clone:

var action = _sdForm.get(0).a.value; 
if ( action == "add") {
   //java script to be triggered on the add or clone of the record only
   ...
}

On Save Examples

For examples related to the On Save action, see the tech community article Perform Custom Validations using Form Script in AgileApps.

Learn More

JavaScript Field Type Reference for New AgileApps User Interface
Referencing Form Fields in JavaScript
Field Name and Field Value syntax
Use AJAX and REST to communicate with the platform in JavaScript code.
JavaScript Functions
Accessing Additional Lookup Variables in a Form

Field Scripts

About Field Scripts

Note: All the examples listed in this page are applicable to the old AgileApps UI and not the revamped UI.

Field scripts let you execute JavaScript when a field in a Form gets focus or its value changes.

JavaScript code can be run at these field-level events:

On Change - This event happens when a user enters a new value in a field. At this event you can change other fields based on the value a user just entered or change the formatting of the value (such as for a telephone number).
On Focus - This event happens when a user moves the focus to a field. At this event you can remind the user what to enter or temporarily change the appearance of the field (set as setting the background color).

See Field Scripting Variables for information on variable syntax.

See also:

Form Scripts for operations at the Form level
Post Selection JavaScript to use additional variables available for Lookup fields

You can add On Change or On Focus event scripts to any field except the following:

Auto Number
Custom Control
File field
Formula
Image field
Lookup
Multi object Lookup
Rich Text Area

Working with Field Scripts

Editing Field Scripts

Follow these steps to add or change event scripting for a field:

Note: To run the JavaScript in the LongJump UI and the legacy AgileApps UI, enter the script in the Legacy UI Script tab. To run the JavaScript in the New AgileApps UI, enter the script in the New UI Script tab.

Click the script icon () next to a field in the layout
Enter or change the JavaScript in Field On Change Script and/or Field On Focus Script
Click the Save button

Writing JavaScript

Using JavaScript, you can

Reference Fields in the current form.
Use AJAX and REST to communicate with the platform.

You can also use the implicit variable obj to refer to the field where the most recent event occurred.

These examples show using the implicit variable obj with these properties:

alert("Selected field's name: " + obj.name);
alert("Selected field's value: " + obj.value);

On Change Examples

Check Approval Status

When a user changes an order, if a discount is given, make sure that approval_required is checked.

if (_sdForm[0].discount.value != '0') {
   setCheckboxState(_sdForm, "approval_required", true);
}

Capitalize a Name

When a user enters a first name, capitalize it automatically:

<pre>
var upperName = _sdForm[0].first_name.value.toUpperCase();
setTextFieldValue(_sdForm, "first_name", upperName);
   // The line could also be written as:
   // obj.value = obj.value.toUpperCase();

Display an Alert with Multiple Values

Display an alert dialog showing the values selected from multiple checkboxes.

var values = getMultiCheckBoxValue(_sdForm, "assets", 0); 
    // Returns a list. For example: ["Laptop", "Cellphone"]
alert( "Multi Check Box Values are: " + values);

Copy a Field in the Current Record

When a user changes the job_knowledge_notes field, copy the new value to the dependability_notes field.

var note = _sdForm[0].job_knowledge_notes.value;
setTextFieldValue(_sdForm, "dependability_notes", note);

Conditional Change to a Value

Change the value of a text area based on a variable.

if(obj.value == "Record1") {
    setTextFieldValue(_sdForm, "description", "First Record") 
}
if(obj.value == "Record2") {
    setTextFieldValue(_sdForm, "description", "Second Record") 
}
else {
    setTextFieldValue(_sdForm, "description", "Not first or second record") 
}

Change the value of a checkbox field to true when the request amount is large enough.

if(_sdForm[0].request_amount.value > 10000) {
    setCheckboxState(_sdForm, "approval_required", true);
}

On Focus Example

When a user moves the focus to the account name field, remind the user to enter the name capitalized.

alert("Please enter the account name in all caps");

Grid Field Scripting

You can run JavaScript code for On Change and On Focus events in grid fields.

Follow these steps to add event scripting to a grid field:

Click the script icon () in the column header of a field in a grid.
Enter the JavaScript in On Change Script and/or On Focus Script.
Click the Save button.

You can refer to these implicit variables in event scripts for grid fields:

grid_section: current grid name used as a prefix for field names
grid_section_row_id: current row identifier

For example, assume that you have a grid with these field names: full_name, first_name, and last_name. You can create references to the fundamental fields with the statements below:

var firstname = eval('_sdForm[0].'+grid_section+'first_name');
var lastname = eval('_sdForm[0].'+grid_section+'last_name');

You can then update the full_name field automatically in an On Change event script for the first name or last name field with this code:

var fullname = firstname.value + ' ' + lastname.value;
setTextFieldValue(_sdForm, "full_name", fullname);

Learn More

Referencing Form Fields in JavaScript
Field Name and Field Value syntax
Use AJAX and REST to communicate with the platform in JavaScript code.
JavaScript Functions
Accessing Additional Lookup Variables in a Form