Creating a Text Entry Field in a Selection List

There are some conditions under which you’d like to include an option in a selection list in which the user can enter a value instead of choosing from the list. You can create this feature by implementing the three fields as shown in the following example.

• This example creates a selection box with the text string Other in it and an adjacent text box. When the user selects the Other option from the selection box, the page presents a new field in which the user can enter custom information.

• Implements the defvar element to create a variable that defines a list of job positions from which a user can select a relevant position.

Consider putting into a rule any variables that will be referenced in a form multiple times. In the following example, a list of items to select from is stored in a variable (in the example, titleList), which allows the Derivation rule to search through it.

The following example is interspersed with descriptive text.

<defvar name=’titleList’>
  <list>
    <s>Manager</s>
    <s>Accountant</s>
    <s>Programmer</s>
    <s>Assistant</s>
    <s>Travel Agent</s>
    <s>Other</s>
  </list>
</defvar>

The next part of this example contains two visible fields called title and otherTitle. The otherTitle field is displayed only if the user chooses the other option on the selection list. The third hidden field is global.Title, which is set from either Title or otherTitle.

The Title field is the main field that the user will select from. If the user cannot find the item that he wants in the list, he can select Other. This is a transient field and is not stored or passed to the workflow process when you click Save. A Derivation rule is used to send the value from the resource and determine if the value is in the list.

In the following example, action is set to true to ensure that form fields populate automatically.

<Field name=’Title’>
   <Display class=’Select’ action=’true’>
      <Property name=’title’ value=’Title’/>
      <Property name=’allowedValues’>
      <Property name=’nullLabel’ value=’Select …"/>
         <expression>
           <ref>titleList</ref>
         </expression>
      </Property>
   </Display>
   <Derivation>
      <cond>
         <isnull><ref>global.Title</ref></isnull>
         <null/>
      <cond>
         <eq>
            <contains>
               <ref>titleList</ref>
               <ref>global.Title</ref>
            </contains>
            <i>1</i>
         </eq>
         <ref>global.Title</ref>
            <s>Other</s>
      </cond>
      </cond>
   </Derivation>
</Field>

The Other field will appear on the form only if the user has selected Other from the title field. The value of the Other field is set when the form is loaded. It is based upon the value of the Title field and the global.title field.

<Field name=’otherTitle’>
    <Display class=’Text’>
      <Property name=’title’ value=’Other Title’/>
      <Property name=’rowHold’ value=’true’/>
      <Property name=’noWrap’ value=’true’/>
      <Property name=’size’ value=’15’/>
      <Property name=’maxLength’ value=’25’/>
    </Display>
    <Disable>
      <neq>
        <ref>Title</ref>
        <s>Other</s>
      </neq>
    </Disable>
    <Derivation>
      <cond>
        <eq>
          <ref>Title</ref>
          <s>Other</s>
        </eq>
        <ref>global.Title</ref>
      </cond>
    </Derivation>
</Field>

The value of Field is based on the value of the Title field. If the value of this field is set to Other, then the field value is defined by the value of the otherTitle field. Otherwise, it will be the value of the Title field.

<Field name=’Title’>
   <Expansion>
     <cond>
       <eq>
         <ref>global.fieldTitle</ref>
         <s>Other</s>
       </eq>
       <ref>otherTitle</ref>
       <ref>Title</ref>
     </cond>
   </Expansion>
</Field>