4 Manage Data in Form-over-Table Layouts

In addition to Table layouts, an Excel workbook can use a Form-over-Table layout, when a parent-child relationship exists in the business objects used by your web application. In this case, you can manage the parent object's data as part of a form and the child object's data in a table, both of which are available in a single worksheet.

View and Edit Data in a Form-over-Table Layout

Viewing and editing data in a Form-over-Table layout is similar in many ways to viewing and editing data in a Table layout.

For example, you use the Download Data button to download data from the Form-over-Table layout’s business objects. Much like Table layouts, you may be prompted to do a search at the beginning of a download. Unlike a Table layout, however, the Form-over-Table displays the first row found from the search, plus all the children of that first parent row.

In some cases, you may be able to update the form fields in a Form-over-Table. The add-in performs data entry validation before it attempts to upload your updates. Ensure that you fix any data entry errors before you attempt to upload your changes. For a form field configured to use a list of values, the behavior is the same as described for the Table layout. That is, a search-and-select window appears when you select the form field. Read-only form fields cannot be edited (see Understanding Read-Only Behavior).

Create a Parent Row in a Form-over-Table Layout

If create is enabled for the form, you can select Create Form Row in the Form Changes menu to place the Form-over-Table layout in create mode. When you first click Create Form Row, all the form fields are blank and the child table has no rows, as shown here:

Description of the illustration create-form-row-user.png

You can then enter form field values, even create new child table rows. All changes are marked as a pending create, until you click Upload Changes. The add-in validates the data before it attempts to upload updates; you must fix any data entry failures before the changes can be uploaded. If the upload of the form fails (applies to both Create and Update changes), the upload of the child table is skipped.

Description of the illustration create-form-row-result.png

Delete a Parent Row in a Form-over-Table Layout

If delete is enabled for the form, you can use the Delete Form Row option in the Form Changes menu to delete the parent row in a Form-over-Table layout.

1. Click Download Data to download data from the layout’s business objects.
2. If search is configured, search for the desired record.
3. In the Form Changes menu, select Delete Form Row.
   
   
   Description of the illustration delete_form_row.png
   
   

   You can only delete an existing form row (not a pending Create row).

4. When prompted to confirm the form row delete, click Yes.

   Once you confirm, the form row is immediately deleted (unlike a Mark for Delete action in a table that takes effect only during an upload).

5. Click OK.

   After the form row is deleted, your layout is cleared of data; the Status Viewer also indicates that no form row exists.