Subforms

In a Web Form, a subform displays a grid of fields for a related object (an object that has a Lookup to the current object). New related records are added by providing data for empty rows in the grid. When the platform processes the subform data, the new records are created, and the Lookup field is automatically populated.

In a Form that is displayed the platform, a subform does all of the above, plus:

• The subform grid displays any existing records that have a Lookup to the current record.
• Those records can be modified by modifying fields in the grid.

For example, a subform might present this kind of information in a record:

• Line items in an order
• Expense line items in an Expense Report object
• List of available inventory items

Considerations

• The owner of the main record becomes the owner of the related records created by the subform.
• The Linking Field should not be present in Form layout which is being used for subform add/Edit record.

• Subforms are not supported in the mobile interface.

__TBD: The spec says "mobile client". Is it supported in the /m browser interface? What happens when a form is displayed on such a device? Does it fail, or does the form "degrade" so that subform section is missing?__

• Column totaling is performed on records that are added, changed, or deleted within the Sub Form section. If record is/are added outside of subform, column totaling won't come accurate
• For that reason, an Object used in subform should not be displayed in a Tab.

__TBD: Is that the only reason??__

• Subforms are supported for Custom Objects and for the Case Object. They are not supported for most other supporting System Objects.

To Add or Edit a Subform

1. Click the New Subform link (located in the Elements Sidebar)
   Or click the Edit link in a subform section heading.
2. Fill in the subform settings:

   Title

   The text to display in the GUI.

   Section Type

   Pre-populated (do not change)

   Object Name

   The Object records to display in the Subform

   Linking Field

   Select the field that does a Lookup to the current object. (A list is presented, in case there is more than one.)

   Number of Rows

   Specify the number of rows to display in the Subform

   • This is the minimum number of number of rows to display.
   • It defaults to 5 rows. You can specify any value up to 100 rows.
   • If data exists, then all available data is shown, plus an additional 3 empty rows.

3. Use the Arrow Buttons to move fields to the list of Selected Fields list, to specify their order.
   The selected fields are displayed in the Subform when the form is displayed.
4. Click [Next]

Sorting Rows, Totaling Columns

The second page of the subform definition lets you specify sorting and totaling options:

1. Sort Settings

   Choose the column to sort on, and specify ascending or descending sort.

   Column Totals

   Select the numeric and currency fields that will be automatically totaled.
   (Only numeric and currency fields are listed.)

   Column-Total Adjustments

   This section appears when you are totaling currency fields. (Only currency fields are listed.)

   • Select the currency field that will have additional adjustments applied to it, and specify the adjustments to allow for. (See below)

2. Click [Save]

Column-Total Adjustments

If you total one more currency fields, you can elect to apply adjustments to one of them:

• Surcharge - Adds a surcharge percentage field to the form.
• Discount - Adds a discount percentage field to the form, as well as a discount amount.
  (Either can entered. If an amount is entered, it is saved as a percentage.)
• Tax - Adds a tax percentage field to the form.
• Shipping - Adds a field for a shipping charge.

Each selection adds the appropriate fields to the form, and does the appropriate calculations to produce a net total:

File:GridInForm.png

Note for Developers: Fields for Column Totals, Column-Total Adjustments, and the Net Total are added to the original object (the object the subform is defined on). The field names have the form grid_{name}_123456..., where the name might be "discount", "net_total", or "comptn" (for a column total), and where the number at the end is the ID of the object Field.