Forms Designer within the Data Entry Forms and Queries section facilitates you to design web based user-friendly Forms using the pre-defined layouts. You can access DEFQ - Forms Designer by expanding Data Entry Forms and Queries section of Unified Metadata Manager module within the tree structure of LHS menu.
The DEFQ - Forms Designer screen displays a list of pre-defined options to create, modify, and delete Forms. You can also assign rights and define messages. By default, the option to Create a New Form is selected and the left pane indicates the total steps involved in the process. The available options are as indicated below. Click on the links to view the section in detail.
To design a new Form in the DEFQ - Forms Designer screen:
Ensure that Create a New Form option is selected and do the following:
Specify the application name by either entering the New Application Name or selecting Available Applications from the drop down list.
Enter the New Form Name.
Click Next. The DEFQ - Layout Screen is displayed with the range of pre-defined layouts for you to choose.
Refer to the following table for information.
Layout |
Description |
Grid Layout |
It is the default layout which displays the records in the Form of a table/grid with multiple rows of data. |
Single Record Layout |
It displays a single record at a time. |
Edit/View Layout |
It is a combination of the Single Record and Grid layout. By selecting a record in the grid, the record is displayed in a single record format, which is editable. By default the first record will be displayed in the editable grid. Note: The column names are editable only during altering the created Form. |
Multi Column Layout |
It displays a single record with its column in a grid format. You can view a multi column layout Form without having to scroll or with minimum scrolling to view all the columns. |
Wrapping Row Layout |
It displays rows of a single record in a wrapped manner in a grid format. You can view a wrapping row layout Form easily without having to scroll horizontally to view all the data. |
Tree View Layout |
It displays the Hierarchical dimensional table with the selected dimension details. You can select the following options:
Note: The process to create a Form using the Tree View Layout differs from the procedure explained below. For more information, see Create Tree View Form in the References section. |
Select the required layout and click Next. The List of Available Tables is displayed.
Select the required Table from the list on which the Form is to be created. For multiple selections, you can either press Ctrl key for nonadjacent selection or SHIFT key for adjacent selections. Click Next, the Fields Selection Screen is displayed.
(Optional) If multiple tables are selected, you need to specify Equi-Join Condition(s). Select the Table from the drop down list and select the Available Fields. Specify the join condition. Click Next, the join conditions are validated and Fields Selection Screen is displayed.
Select the fields to be
joined from the Available Fields
list and click 
button. You
can press Ctrl key for multiple
selections and also click 
button to
select all the listed fields. All mandatory fields are auto selected
and are indicated on screen with an asterisk (*).
Note: You can
click 
or 
buttons to arrange the fields in the required order as intended to display
in the Data Entry Form. The fields order need not be similar to the arrangement
in the underlying table.
Click Next. The Sort Fields Selection Screen is displayed.
You can sort the fields in required order as intended to display in the Data Entry Form. Also the mandatory fields which needs user inputs are indicated in '*' symbol and are auto selected in the Selected Fields pane.
Select the field from
the Available Fields list
click button. You can
press Ctrl key for multiple
selections and also click button
to select all the listed fields.
(Optional) To arrange multiple fields, select Sort by Descending checkbox.
(Optional) Select the Excel Map checkbox to enable Bulk Authorization.
Note: In case you have selected Excel Map checkbox, you need to select "Excel Name" from the Store Field As list in the DEFQ Field Properties screen. Only on selection, the "SelectExcelSheetName" list is displayed for authorizer in the DEFQ - Data Entry screen.
Click Next. The DEFQ Field Properties screen is displayed with the Form details such as Field Name, Display Name, In View, In Edit/Add, Allow Add, Store Field as, Rules, and Format Type.
Specify the parameters for each field as tabulated.
Field |
Description |
Display Name |
Edit the default Display Name if required. |
In View |
Select either Display or Do not Display to display the field in the Form. If the field is a foreign key field or if more than one table is selected, then the following options are available in the drop down list;
|
In Edit/Add |
Specify the edit parameters by selecting from the drop down list. The available options depend on the type of field selected.
Note: If you choose Select List option, you need to define the values. For more information, refer Define List of Values. |
Allow Add |
Select the checkbox to permit users to add new record. Note: An alert message is displayed if you are trying to save a Form with add option disabled for the mandatory fields. |
Store field as |
Select the required option from the drop down list. You can select the store format as Normal, Sequence Generator, Maker Date, Checker Date, Created Date, Modified Date Auth Flag, Maker id, Maker Date, Checker id, Checker Date, Checker Remarks, Maker Remarks, and Excel Name (If Excel Map is selected in Sort Fields Selection screen). |
Rules |
Click Rules and specify Rules and Expressions for the selected field in the Specifying Rules and Expressions for Data - Validations screen. For more information, refer Applying Rules section in References. |
Format Type |
Select the required Format type from the drop down list depending on the field type selected. |
Batch Commit |
Select the checkbox to group all the set of table Forms to a batch. All the Form tables are executed along with the batch execution and if in case, a Form in the table fails to execute, the entire set of Forms are returned. |
Message Details |
Click Message Details to define the message type for Creator and Authorizer in the Messaging Details for a Form screen. For more information, refer Define Message Details. |
Form Filter |
Click Form Filter to define an expression for Form-level filter condition in the Filter for Form screen. |
Data Versioning |
Click Data Versioning to perform data versioning on an authorized Form. For more information, refer Form Data Versioning. |
Click either Save to save the Form details or click Save for Authorization to save the changes with authorization. For more details, refer Save for Authorization section.
While saving, the User for Mapping - DEFQ screen is displayed which facilitates you to assign user rights to the Form. For more information, refer Assign Rights.
To alter the field details of an existing Form in the DEFQ - Forms Designer screen:
Select Alter Existing Forms from the available options and do the following:
Select the Available Applications from the drop down list.
Select the Available Forms from the drop down list. The listed Forms are dependent on the DSN (Data Source Name) that you have specified.
Click Next. The Fields Selection Screen is displayed.
Add
or Remove the selected fields
as required to be displayed in the Form. You can choose a field from the
Available Fields list and click
button to add, or choose the selected
field from the Fields to Display
list and click 
button to de-select.
You can press Ctrl key for multiple
selections and also click or 
buttons to select/de-select all the listed fields.
Click Next. The Sort Fields Selection Screen is displayed.
Sort the fields in required
order as intended to display in the Form. You can choose a field from
the list and click or buttons to select/deselect. You can also
click or
buttons to select/de-select all the listed fields.
Select a field and click
or
buttons to arrange fields in the required order.
(Optional) To arrange multiple fields, select Sort by Descending checkbox.
(Optional) Select the Excel Map checkbox to enable Bulk Authorization.
Note: In case you have selected Excel Map checkbox, you need to select "Excel Name" from the Store Field As list in the DEFQ Field Properties screen. Only on selection, the "SelectExcelSheetName" list is displayed for authorizer in the DEFQ - Data Entry screen.
Click Next. The DEFQ Field Properties Screen is displayed.
Modify the parameters for each field as required. Refer DEFQ Field Properties details.
Click either Save to save the Form details or click Save for Authorization to save the changes with authorization.
While saving, the User for Mapping - DEFQ screen is displayed which facilitates you to assign user rights to the Form. For more information, refer Assign Rights.
You can duplicate and recreate a Form with the required variants from an existing Form. You can also change user rights or display options and other subtle variations for the selected layout.
To Copy a Form in the DEFQ - Forms Designer screen:
Select Copy Forms from the available options and do the following:
Select the application from the From Application drop down list which consist of the required Form which you want to copy.
Select the application from the To Application drop down list for which you want to copy the Form.
Select the required Form from the Save Form drop down list.
Enter a name for the Form in the As Form field.
Click Next. The specified Form is duplicated as a new Form and a confirmation dialog is displayed with the status.
You can remove the forms which are not required in the system by deleting from the DEFQ - Forms Designer screen.
Select Delete Forms from the available options and do the following:
Select the application from the Available Application drop down list which consist of the required Form which you want to delete.
Select the Form from the Available Forms drop down list which you want to delete.
Click Next. An information dialog is displayed for confirmation. Click OK.
You can assign user permissions to view, add, edit, and delete the Form details in the User for Mapping - DEFQ screen.
Select Assign Rights from the available options and do the following:
Select the required application from the Available Application drop down list.
Select the Form from the Available Forms drop down list.
Click Next. The User for Mapping - DEFQ screen is displayed.
Select the required user
from the Available User List.
You can also click 
or 
buttons
to reload previous/next set of users in the list.
Select the checkbox adjacent to the listed user permissions such as View, Add, Edit, Delete, or All Above. You must select view option in order to allow users to Edit or Delete a Form.
Select Authorize or Auto-Authorize checkbox as required.
The Authorize and Auto-Authorize options are applicable for all the forms that have been saved with the Authorize option. The Auto-Authorize feature for records is applicable in scenarios where the Creator and Authorizer are the same. If a user has Add and Auto-Authorize grants, the data entered by the user is auto authorized and the data is in Authorized status. In case of normal Authorization, the Record added by the creator has to be authorized by a different user who has Authorize permissions.
Note: The Auto-Authorize feature in Forms Designer is applicable only for data entered through Data Entry screen and not through Excel Upload screen.
(Optional) Select the checkbox to Show Data Created by Current Users Only.
Click User Value Map to map users to the form based on data filter.
Click Save Access Rights. A confirmation dialog is displayed after saving and the user is added to the Assigned User List.
This feature allows you to create a data filter based on any field/column of the table you selected for designing the Form. When a user tries to access the form in the DataEntry screen, data will be filtered and displayed based on the selected field ,to the users associated with that column .
Note: The data type of field/column you select to define filter should be NUMBER or VARCHAR. The users mapped to the DEFQ form whose assign rights are authorized through “Forms Authorization” can save the filter.
There are two types of filters, Global Data Filter and Custome Data Filter.
Global Data Filter: In this filter, the value will be fetched from the DEFQ_GLOBAL_VALUES table of the Atomic schema, which is automatically created during information domain creation. The table needs to be populated manually through excel upload. The table contains all the
entities and the users mapped to them.
Custom Data Filter: This filter enables the user to provide a custom filter for the form you design. In this filter, you should enter values for all the users mapped to the form manually.
To set a Data Filter:
Click User Value Map in the DEFQ- Assign Rights screen. The User Value Map screen is displayed.
Select the Global Data Filter option to filter the data globally.
Select the field based on which the data should be filtered and displayed for the user, from the Fields to Display section.
Note: Normally the user can access all the data from the table whenever the DEFQ form is created. Based on this filter, the user will be displayed only the data which is mapped to him.
Select the Custom Data Filter to provide a custom filter for a specific DEFQ Form.
Select User ID from the drop-down list and enter Values for that user. It is mandatory
Click Save.
You can manage the Message Type details which alert the Creator of the Form or to an Authorizer in the DEFQ Message Type Maintenance screen. Message Type details can be defined while creating a Form. For more information, refer Define Messaging Details.
In the In the DEFQ - Forms Designer screen, do the following:
Select Message Type Maintenance from the available options and click Next.
The DEFQ - Message Type Maintenance screen is displayed.
Select the message category from the Message Type drop-down list.
Edit the message details by doing the following:
The defined Message Subject and Message Content is auto populated. Edit the details as required.
Add or remove the defined recipients. Double-click on the required member to toggle between Available and Mapped Recipients list.
Note: Selecting Authorizer alerts all the selected authorizers for authorization.
Click Save. A confirmation is displayed on updating the Message Type details.