Creating Popups

Creating Popups

The Popup Field Tool allows you to place popup lists from which values can be selected; the value selected corresponds to the value of a form variable or a character field in the Job Manager database.

When a popup is placed, specify the database field or variable to which it refers and the label that will be displayed on the form next to the popup list. For example, a popup field may be used to allow the user to specify the type of job that is being submitted by the customer (new job, repeat job, straight reprint job, reprint job with changes, etc.). The contents of the popup list may be entered when the popup is placed on the form, or set to be calculated dynamically using a script.

To create a popup on a form:

1. Select the Popup Field Tool from the Tools Palette.

2. Move the pointer to the appropriate position, then click and drag to draw a popup on the form.

3. Select the new popup on the form. You can specify the database field to associate with the popup and other field options in the Control Palette.

4. Click the Field expander button and select the appropriate database field. The database fields available will depend on the record type on which the form is based. The Field expander button also allows you to define the value selected from the popup as a form variable which may be used in performing calculations on the form. For details on defining and using variables, please refer to the "Creating Form Variables" section.

5. In the Default value/Calculate as field, specify a default value for the popup by using a single MetaScript expression or writing multiple lines of code. For details on using MetaScript with popups, please refer to the "Writing MetaScript for Database Fields and Variables" section.

If you want the value of the popup to take on the value of a database field, click the MetaScript editor button and select a database field by clicking the database field­­­­­­­ button in the MetaScript Editor window. If a non-editable database field was selected in the previous step, the default value field will not be available.

6. Specify the appropriate options for the popup. The following options may be specified:

Allow Editing---indicates whether users are allowed to edit the information displayed in this field.

Required---indicates whether the user is required to enter information in this field before the record displayed in the form can be saved.

Visibility---indicates whether the popup will be always shown, always hidden, shown in print (only when the form is printed), or shown in display (only when the form is viewed in the Job Manager Print Form desktop client).

7. Type the label you want use for the popup in the Label field. The label will be displayed on the form next to the popup field.

TIP: Depending on the format and design of the form you are creating, it may be advantageous to label the popup using a static text field. This allows you to apply attributes to the popup label that differ from those of the actual popup itself (e.g. font, size, style, color, etc.). For details on creating static text, refer to the "Creating Static Text" section.

8. Type a value for the popup in the List Item Value field and click Add. The value will be displayed in the List of Values grid, and will thus become available for selection by the users of Job Manager.

To have the contents of the popup list calculated dynamically based on a script, select MetaScript from the Popup is filled by popup, and write the MetaScript commands to be executed in populating the popup list. For details on using MetaScript with dynamically calculated popup lists, please refer to the "Creating MetaScript for Dynamic Popups" section.

9. Repeat step 7 for each value you want to include in the popup field. As each item is added, it will appear in the List of Values grid. These values can also be deleted or rearranged by selecting the appropriate value and clicking either Down, Up, or Delete.

Tip: If the text of a list item begins with "---", that item will be displayed as a separator.

10. Apply the appropriate attributes (style, size, font, color) to the new popup.

11. Select Save Form from the Form menu to save the changes you have made to the form.

At this point, a new popup field has been added to the form. You can now continue adding popups or move on to the next type of form object you want to place on the form. For details on moving, resizing, copying, or pasting popup fields, please refer to the "Working with Form Objects: Supported Actions" section.


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