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Introduction

If you want users to be able to create, update, view, or delete anything from the database, you must build forms.

A lookup form is a screen that allows a user to search for data. This process creates a lookup form.

Prerequisites

• The entity on which the forms are to be based must already exist. If you want to restrict users’ access based on validation rules, they must already be configured in the entity.
• The forms themselves also must not already exist. You can’t create multiple forms with the same ID. You can create multiple forms using the same entity. 
• The Maintenance Form on which the form is to be based must already exist.

Detailed Steps

Step 1. Open the form.

Open the maintenance form you want to create a lookup form for. This example uses the Customer Maintenance form. 

Tip: You can create multiple lookup forms for one maintenance form.

Step 2. Click the More icon in the left panel, then click the Create Lookup icon.

Step 3. Update the Form Details, if required, then click Next.

Xelence populates the form details automatically.

Important properties are:

• Entity: The forms are based on the entity. The lookup form's Search Criteria and Results sections will be mapped to this entity's attributes.
• Form Name (ID): It populates automatically, but you can modify it. It will always be prefixed with "wfm" and suffixed with "Lookup".
• Portal Name: It is basically a starting point or gateway to other resources.
• Folder: This is where Xelence will save the form.

Tip: Entity, Portal Name, and Folder Name are non-editable properties. Also, you can create multiple forms for one maintenance form.

Step 4. Select the Search Criteria fields.

Xelence uses the entity the forms are based on to provide the available fields. Select the ones you want for your lookup form.

Step 5. Edit the Search Criteria field properties, if required, then click Next.

The properties are:

• Field Name: Field Name is a displayed property that is not editable. It's the column name.
• Caption: Text the user sees. From their perspective, this is the name of the field.
• Control Type: Determines how the user interacts with the field.
• Range: Indicates whether the field is a range (mostly for dates).

The fields order can be changed, if required.

Step 6. Add/remove Search Results fields, if desired.

Xelence populates the Search Results section with the same fields you chose for the Search Criteria. Add or remove fields as desired.

Step 7. Edit the Search Results field properties, if desired.

The properties are:

• Field Name: Field Name is a displayed property that is not editable. It's the column name.
• Header: Text the user sees. From their perspective, this is the name of the field (column).
• Sort Expression: The table column that contains the value the grid column expresses.
• Default Order: Xelence populates options for this only if Sort Expression is selected. The options are Ascending or Descending.

The fields order can be changed, if required.

Step 8. Select the form buttons, then click Next.

This determines which buttons will be on the newly created lookup form. By default, all button options are selected. The buttons are:

• New: Creates a new record.
• Open: Opens selected records.
• Delete: Deletes selected records.
• Export to Excel: Exports selected records to Excel.

Step 9. Configure the form in the menu, then click Finish.

To navigate to the form on the application side, you can create a menu item.

The important properties are:

• Text: This is the text that will be displayed on the menu.
• Description: It is the form's description.
• Form ID: Programmatic ID of the form. This is how the application knows which form to open when the user clicks the menu item.

Tip: You can add or delete menu or submenu items, and you can change their order.

Xelence creates the HTML file for the lookup form. The form file now exists and is available for further configuration.

When you have completed the wizard and created your form, it should look something like this:

What are the improvements over S3 Version 6?

Related Articles

Create a Lookup Form with the Item Wizard

Configure the Lookup Form's Details

This post is part of the Lookup Form topic. Click here to open the Lookup Form Overview.

#Xelence
#Forms