AgileApps Support Wiki

Forms

From AgileApps Support Wiki
Revision as of 23:48, 12 July 2011 by imported>Aeric (→‎Configuration Options in Form Layouts)

Designer > Presentation > Forms

A well-defined form makes data entry and inspection easier and faster.

About Forms

Forms define the Fields that are visible to users in different roles when a Record in an Object is viewed or edited. The fields in a form can be ordered and organized into sections. Labels, spacer lines, and horizontal dividers can be added to create logical groupings, and sections can be added for Quick Links and for related records (Related Information).

The Elements Sidebar helps you to configure the layout for a Form.

Considerations
  • Forms are associated with Objects
  • Multiple forms can be created for an Object
  • In addition to the standard forms, you can create your own custom Pages for viewing, adding, or updating a record, and select them for use in the object Properties section: Presentation Pages.

Lock-tiny.gif

Users that have the Customize Objects permission can edit Form Layouts 

Configuration Options

These configuration buttons are available:

Considerations
  • When an Object is created, a Default Form is created
  • The Default Form cannot be deleted or renamed
  • When a user creates a new form layout, that user has full control over the design, and can add any combination of elements from a default list, or select from a list of existing elements

Working with a Form Layout

Next to each element in a form is a series of icons you can use to edit it rearrange its position, add a script, or remove it from the form:

Icons on form layout fields.gif

You can also add fields, sections, and other elements to the form using the controls at top left, as shown below.

Elements

The Elements section contains things you can drag and drop into the form.

Fields

The first tab is Fields. It contains the object fields that can be put into the form.

Form layout fields.gif

Form Controls

The second tab is Form Controls.

Form layout controls.gif Spacer Add horizontal space between elements in a form.
Label Add a label to a form.
Horizontal Divider Add a dividing line between elements in a form.
Section
  • Sections divide areas in a Form Layout for improved readability and organization
  • Sections have a default setting to open expanded or collapsed
  • Fields in sections can be hidden in a View, if the field contains no data
  • Within a section, images can be displayed in the header, footer, left or right margins
Quick Link
  • A Quick Link provides the ability to pass a value from a record to a website URL.
  • For example, add a Google News lookup to an Account, or add a Facebook lookup to a Contact

New Section Constructors

Underneath the Elements section, there are two links you can use to create additional sections in the form:

New Grid Section
  • Adds related information records from another object
  • Grid sections are displayed as a table or spreadsheet within a record
  • For example, the Parts object can contain a grid section that lists component parts (from the Components object)
New Related Information section
  • A Related Information Section is part of each Record, and displays related records from other objects
  • Related Information Sections are created by default in all Objects
  • Use this link to create (optional) additional Related Information Sections.
  • Learn more: Object Relationships

Manage Form Layouts

Manage Form Layouts

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

Notepad.png

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

Lock-tiny.gif

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

Adding or Editing a Layout Rule

  1. Click the [Layout Rule] button at the top of the page.
  2. Click the [Add New Rule] button to add a new Layout Rule,
    or click the name of an existing rule to edit it.
  3. Fill in the layout rule settings.
  4. 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
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 ✔ ✔ ✔ ✕ ✕ ✔ ✔ ✕ ✕

Notepad.png

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

Reorder Layout Rules

  1. Click the [Layout Rule] button at the top of the page.
  2. 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.

About the [Save Changes] Button

If you are editing a form layout and attempt to navigate to a different tab in the object, the following message is displayed, which provides the option to [Cancel] the action and [Save Changes], or continue [OK] and abandon the edit process.

File:Confirmformlayoutchange.gif

For Developers: Form Scripting

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:

Working with Form Scripts

Notepad.png

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:

Notepad.png

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.

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

Writing JavaScript

Using JavaScript, you can

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):

Notepad.png

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

[[Category:Template:Features]]

Retrieved from "https://agileappscloud.info/aawiki-src/index.php?title=Forms&oldid=2885"