Using FreeMarker to Work with Hidden Fields Used in Advanced Templates

Advanced printing templates can fail to print when they depend on a sublist hidden field.

In the following custom transaction form example, the Show box beside the Corporate Card field box isn't checked. Therefore, Corporate Card is hidden from templates.

Advanced PDF/HTML Templates Custom Transaction Form page with the Corporate card box outlined in red on the Screen Fields > Expenses subtab.

When a field is visible (box is checked), it's represented as a Boolean condition in the advanced template, like this:

          <#if expense.corporatecreditcard == true>
   "Corporate Card" is checked!
</#if>

When a field is hidden, you must instead compare the value of the field with a string: "T"(true) or "F"(false), like this:

          <#if expense.corparatecreditcard == "T">
   "Corporate Card" is checked!
</#if>

A template that depends on the Corporate Card hidden field is no longer valid because the type of box changes from Boolean condition to string. You can't compare a Boolean condition to a string.

If you use a string condition like the preceding example and then make the field visible, then this condition isn't valid.

Error Messages

If a template can't be printed because it depends on a sublist hidden field, you receive an error message similar to one of the following:

In this example from the template editor, the comparison of string with Boolean condition isn't valid:
In the following example, the second condition isn't valid because it can't be evaluated to true or false:

Template Editor Error Message

UI Error Message

Solution for Unknown Visibility of the Field

You should avoid a scenario where a template depends on a sublist hidden field.

If you don't know whether the field is visible, you should create a condition in which the template behaves correctly in both cases, like in the following example.

            <#if (expense.corporatecreditcard?is_boolean && expense.corporatecreditcard) || (expense.corporatecreditcard?is_string && expense.corporatecreditcard == "T")>
   "Corporate Card" is checked!
</#if>

Error Messages

Solution for Unknown Visibility of the Field

Related Topics