Data Entry Form

The Data Entry Form allows a custom layout to be defined for entering or amending data in a Table.

A Table also has its own default layout, which is a simple column showing all fields, in the order they appear where the fields are defined. This is useful for prototyping, for example developing the business-logic for an application, but for 'production' sites you need the flexability of the DEF where you can control the exact location of prompts, fields, graphics and standing text.

Data Entry Forms components are useful as they allow you to:

• Choose any layout you like.
• Only allow some of the fields to be worked with.
• Provide different Data Entry Forms to different users (based on their permissions) - for example allowing administrators to access more fields than visitors.
• Place the Data Entry Forms in different locations within the site tree than the underlying Form.

To Create a Data Entry Form

1. First create your underlying Table as normal (ie using a Table component)
2. Add a Data Entry Form Component
3. In the  Data Entry Form's Behavior Editor, Settings , Options, specify the underlying Table.
4. Refresh the page
5. From the Toolbox, choose Edit Text > Record Edit View

This opens a text editor, were you can create your layout, and use the Embed wizard to place fields, field prompts, and submit buttons. Exact position can readily be tightly specified using HTML-tables within the text-editor, or you can use DIVs.

Once created, a Data Entry Form works in the same way as the underlying Table's default form, in terms of the way you can link to it, either without parameters, or with parameters to get directly to a specific record.

Example

See a detailed example here in: A First Site...