Attributes in creating Forms

This article describes attributes available in all forms.

Common attributes configuration: #

Each attribute has a similar configuration spread over different tabs.

  • General – tab with the Name of the field, Guid number, a field with description, the type of an attribute parent, attribute type (textbox), and options to set this field as Visible, Editable, and Required
  • Conditions – tab to set advanced conditions and logic for the field.

Attribute mode – as a default value it is a standard field. When set to Automatically evaluated a new field becomes available.

Automatically evaluated field – The value is calculated every time the value in the dependent fields (selected from the list) changes. It is set using the switch where we have a choice:

SIMPLE – no-code option, we select the data from any column of the supported list or enter the value. It is possible to filter the results from the list. The condition for retrieving values is to select a column that has a data type compatible with the field type. In the case of the Date field, the switch allows you to select one of three options:

  • Value – enter the value manually or select from a supported list or dictionary.
  • Function – Available for dates, allows you to build conditions that depend on the current date (current day, current week, etc.). In the case of a function, we specify an offset, e.g. This day -1 = previous day; This day +1 = next day
  • Dynamic value – allows you to select data from a list

For attribute choices, the switch allows you to select one of 3 modes:

  • Value – selects a value from the list attached to the attribute
  • Dynamic value – select a dynamic value from the list attached to the attribute, you have the option to set filters and the type of aggregation of results: First/Last
  • Dynamic value based on another list – select a value from a list other than the one attached to the selected attribute.

SQL – The value is calculated whenever the value in dependent fields (i.e., selected with mentions from the list under the @ button or in values referenced with @) changes e.g. Current user ID or Current user groups ID. We can also use classic SQL queries.
An example of simple a low-code SQL query:
SELECT @Net + @Gross – sets the value of the field as a SUM of selected fields Net and Gross.

Automatically evaluated field with overwriting option– same as Automatically evaluated field but the value can be changed in the field by the user.

Dynamically evaluated field (no value stored) – The value is calculated similarly to the Automatically evaluated field option, however, the value is not stored in the database and is calculated every time the document is saved or attributes used in the calculation changed.

Default values – the settings are similar to an auto-evaluated value. The default value is only calculated once, upon creating the document. Note that: If at the time of creating the document the required data for calculations is not provided, the field will remain empty. If the data will be provided later while working with the document use the Auto-evaluated values option instead.

  • Appearance – tab used to configure Label width (Auto, px, %), Control width (Auto, px, %), and Label layout options (2-column layout, 1-column layout, Global style, Label on the right side). There is an option to Display as label (shows attribute as a label when checked). There is also an Attribute appearance format section where text style can be set from default to custom. In custom mode, standard formatting options (bold, italic, underlined, size, color, and background color) can be set.
  • Configuration – a field with settings specific to a type of attribute, used in selection attributes, data presentation, groups, and system fields
  • Messages – tab used to add tooltips and hints to a field
  • Translations – the tab to configure a translation to a second language of the system. You can set a translated name, tooltips, labels
  • Format condition settings – allows defining additional conditions for formatting text. The conditions added below will define how the attribute will be formatted. If conditions are defined, the attribute will be formatted according to the first condition that matches the data. If no condition matches the data and the default formatting is defined, the text will be formatted according to the default formatting. Otherwise, the attribute will not be formatted.
  • Dependencies – list of all related forms, lists, applications, etc. to our attribute on the form.

Basic attributes #

Textbox #

A standard text field. Used to enter short text information.

Multiline input #

Text area with the possibility of setting multiple lines. Used to enter longer text information, e.g. a description field.

HTML editor #

A field that is an HTML widget – i.e. it provides the ability to insert hyperlinks or tables, bold text, etc.

Integer #

Only numbers are allowed to be entered in this field.

Decimal number #

This field allows entering numbers with decimal places.

Date and time #

The field allows you to select the date and time.

Date #

The field allows you to select a date (without time).

Time #

The field allows you to select a time.

Password #

This is a special text field that cannot be seen as you type. Configuration settings similar to a field textbox (without extra format condition settings) but with extra tab Configuration where a secure password change may be imposed. Once saved the password is stored but not visible.

Attachments #

A field where attachments can be added from a local disk. Configuration settings similar to a field textbox (without extra format condition settings) but with extra tab Configuration.

Show preview of first attachment – Opens a preview of the first attachments on document loading.

Digital sign – Allow digital signing of attached documents.

Gallery mode – Displays graphic attachments as a gallery.

The user can also set a maximum file quantity and size in MB.

Preview mode  – user can choose form:

Browser native viewer – Word/Excel/PDF/images will be displayed with the browser native viewer.

Image viewer – Word/Excel/PDF files will be transformed into images and then displayed with the image viewer.

Both – both preview modes will be available on the document.

 Image upload #

A field where picture attachments can be added from a local disk. Unlike the attachments attribute, the picture is displayed on the form as ex. user profile photo. Configuration settings are similar to field Attachments but configuration only sets the width, height, and maximum file size in MB.

Action button #

The Button type field enables the execution of a given action. The button can be used, for example, to redirect to a specific URL, create new documents, or perform any action understood as an SQL expression. This attribute has slightly different settings in 3 tabs:

  • Conditions – tab to set Conditions of visibility only
  • Appearance – tab used to configure label width (Auto, px, %) and control width (Auto, px, %) only.
  • Configuration – tab to set options like Show on new document(The button will be seen on new not yet saved documents), Show in edit mode (The button will be seen upon editing the document), Show in view mode (The button will be seen only in a view mode)), Align (Left, Center, Right), Button style, and Action. The user gets a list of possible actions to choose from. There are several system actions available to execute. Actions can work on documents, and processes or even scan bar codes.
  • When creating a document we need to choose the form, whether to start a process on it automatically, and how the document will open (Window or PopUp).

Icon #

A field where a graphic icon can be set. In the Configuration tab, we can choose an icon to display, color (system or from a palette), and size (multiplicity or in px).

Selection attributes #

Switch #

The field allows you to select only one of 2 items in the data set. To configure two values of Disable and Enable state must be entered.

Radio #

The field allows you to select only one of the items in the data set. This button can be selected, but not cleared, by a user. To configure settings: vertical/horizontal orientation and data source: Dictionary or List from available lists. Setting the list is similar to inserting the list. When using Dictionary, user sets options to choose from.

Checkbox #

The field allows you to select only one of the items in the data set. This button can be selected and cleared by a user. Configuration is similar to the field radio (without Configuration and Format condition settings).

Checkbox multiple choice #

This field allows you to select several items from a given data set. Configuration is similar to the field radio.

A list that displays data from a given data set. Configuration is similar to the field radio.

A list that displays data from a given data set and offers a selection of several items from the list. Configuration is similar to the field radio.

Data presentation attributes #

List #

A field is used to insert a list of documents into a form. When setting a configuration user defines data from the list attached. We have the option to filter the data as described in an article here. In this tab, the user can decide whether the associated list will display according to its standard settings (global or those selected during list setup), or they will be overridden by the settings selected in this tab. More information on creating a list can be found here.

Chart #

A field is used to insert a chart based on data from the specific list. When setting a configuration tab we choose a chart type (Line, Bar, or Pie) and choose a list. We can then narrow down a list by adding filters, Measuring aggregation (Suma Average, Count), Measuring (based on integer columns), Argument (based on list columns), Data labels, Tooltips, and Legend position on the chart.

Static text #

A field used to enter plain text into a form but not grouped as a text field. Largely would be used to set not editable descriptions on the form. Configuration is similar to a field List with the exception of the Configuration tab where only the displayed text is entered.

Gantt charts #

A field to insert a Gantt chart. It is useful to present progress in projects and task management. To set it we choose a list as a database for the chart, then the Name – an attribute to identify records on the chart and Start/End dates.

 

Grouping attributes #

Group #

A field is used to create a grouping field on the form. One of the most important attributes to design a great UX. Groups are responsible for the final presentation of the documents and dashboards. This attribute has slightly different settings in 3 tabs:

  • Conditions – tab to set Conditions of visibility. To set those conditions we choose an operator (contains, does not contain, starts with, ends with, equals, does not equal, reset) and a data source from a field in the form or from standard system fields (autoincrement and data-based on the current user). We can also set filters based on variables.
  • Appearance – tab used to configure label width (Auto, px, %) and control width (Auto, px, %). It includes an option to show/hide the group header.
  • Configuration – tab to set options: Show header, Expanded (Group will be expanded by default), Expandable (Allow user to open/close group), Scrollable group (If the groups do not fit on the screen, they are assigned independent sliders), Show content in columns, Dialog preview, and Column widths options.

List of elements #

The list allows you to group the fields into one row, with each field treated as a column in the list. To add a list of elements, add an element and then attach individual columns as sub-elements inside the attribute window using drag and drop. In the configuration, we can only set the width for each sub-element.

Tab Panel #

A field is used to place a panel with customized tabs on the form. The most common tab names are General, Workflow, Comments, and Permissions.

Group of buttons #

A field containing a group of standard buttons like Save, Edit, Back, etc. It is used to design a better UX. When more than one button is required in proximity on the form it is advisable to group them under the group of buttons and place them together in the correct space on the form.

Separator #

A field with no content is used to separate fields on the form and create an empty space. Configuration settings are similar to a field Tab panel.

 

System attributes #

Parent documents #

A field with a list displaying only parent documents to our document. Configuration is similar to inserting the list. A field is used to tree view lists and the proper behavior of Gantt charts. Use it to assign a document to another document (higher in the hierarchy). A good example is a Project (Parent) has Tasks (children)

Child documents #

A field with a list displaying only child documents to our document. Configuration is similar but opposite to the field Parent documents.

A field with a list displaying all related documents to our document. Configuration is similar to the field Parent documents.

Permissions #

This field is used to display permissions for the document. Users with relevant permissions can add new permissions to the document through this widget. There is no extra configuration available. More about complex permission settings can be read here.

Comments #

This system widget is used for posting comments to a document. It consists of an HTML editor and mechanisms allowing one to quote and respond to other comments. This widget also allows you to refer to a specific employee which makes it possible to transfer information or commands without starting the document workflow. Configuration includes adding a user to always receive system notifications or to always inform the user by email. There is an option to notify a document creator by email.

Process #

The tab shows the workflow history of the document. It is possible to set in configuration to show only actions made by the user.

Substitutions #

The tab shows a list of users set as possible replacements for a user in the workflow and a button to add a replacement.

Document signature #

This system field will automatically generate a signature based on the signature of the last saved document. If there are no documents on the list, the system will start their numbering from 1. In the configuration tab, it is possible to set the schema for formatting the signature. Example scheme: DOC/@DocumentDate(‘yyyy’)/@DocumentDate(‘MM’)/@AutoIncrement(‘000’)
Result: DOC/2020/06/001

Signature cannot be changed – disables the possibility to edit the signature after the document is saved.

Signature is unique for this form – disables the possibility of adding documents with the same signature within this form.

Created by user #

An automatically filled-in text field that refers to the user that has created the document. The user cannot edit this field. Offers standard field configuration.

Modified by user #

An automatically filled-in text field that refers to the last user that has modified the document. The user cannot edit this field. Offers standard field configuration.

Creation date #

The system automatically fills out a date and time field. The field contains the date of the document creation. The user cannot edit this field. Offers standard field configuration.

Modification date #

The system automatically fills out a date and time field. The field contains the date of the last document modification. The user cannot edit this field. Offers standard field configuration.

Title #

The system automatically fills out a title field. The field contains the name of the document and the path in the menu. The user cannot edit this field. Specific conditions to set are:

Is dynamic value – Dynamic value is always computed and its value isn’t stored in the database.

Dynamic evaluated value – Value is computed on document creation, at document opening, or dependent field value change. In the example, the Title will show a Signature from the document.

How do delete a field on the form? #

When building applications the system creates dependencies between fields, forms, lists, and processes. If you require to delete an attribute from the form you must first remove all dependencies (ex. remove a column based on this attribute from a list). The system will notify the user with an appropriate message when attempting to delete the attribute with dependencies.

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