Form Customization
Once you’ve set up the data model in the Type Model view, you can move over to the Form Customization tab to design the form that will be presented to agents. This view shows the form with the fields from the current model and allows you to design the form. This includes moving fields, resizing fields, setting options on the label display, grouping fields on the form, adding tabs, and adding field tooltips. After editing, the form design will be saved and associated with the current model. You may also export a form design to file. To start the design process click one of the toolbar buttons to customize the form:
The Edit button enters design mode with the current layout of the form.
With case types you also have the option to copy a design from another case type by clicking on the Copy Form Layout button.
Reset options are also available on all model types:
- Reload saved customization will reload the current customization of the type. This is useful when changes were made, but not saved, and you would like to revert to the customization before the changes were applied.
- Reset to default customization loads the default customization of the type from where you may make additional changes
- Remove customization loads the fields without any customization applied.
When in design mode, a “Customization” form will appear showing all fields, groups, and additional form items with their configurable properties.
You may search for fields in the Layout Tree View to, for example, find newly added fields. From here you may drag the fields onto the form. An outline will show the placement. You may also move fields around by dragging them to the desired position. Fields may be selected from the Layout Tree View or from the form to see and edit their properties. We will not cover all the properties in this document, however here are a few important notes:
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Enabled | Even though you can set the Enabled property in the customization form, this may be overridden by the security and access rules of Case Manager. It is best to not make use of this property. |
| Text | The display name of the field is not editable on the form. It will always take its value from the display name as set up in the type model. For a group on the form (this does not relate to the group in the type model) you are allowed to change the display name. |
| TextVisible | You may hide the display name on the form. When the TextVisible property is set to false, there will be no label displayed with the control or group. |
| TextLocation | This property is used to specify where a control label should be displayed relative to the control. The default for field controls is on the left, and for groups it’s at the top. |
| Tooltip & TooltipTitle | You may specify as part of the form design the tooltip that will be displayed to the agent when hovering over the field. |
| Padding & Spacing | Padding the amount of space within an item, and spacing is the amount of space around the item. With groups on the form the difference is effident; the behavior of these two properties for normal controls are the same. |
| Expanded & ExpandButtonVisible | Groups can be expanded and collapsed. This feature is not on by default. You can set the ExpandButtonVisible to allow the agent to expand/collapse a group on the form with an arrow button that will appear on the group. The default state can then be set via the Expanded property |
In the Hidden Items section you will also find standard (non-data bound) items that can be added to the form:
- Empty space item can be added to areas where an empty space is necessary for the alignment of other controls
- Label can be used to add a text label to form with text not relating to any specific field.
- A separator adds a horizontal line to the form
- A splitter adds a draggable vertical separator to the form.
When the Customization form is closed, it indicates the end of the design mode. You will be asked if you would like to save the changes made to the model. Saving the changes will make the newly designed form available to the agents. Note that agents may have to reopen Case Manager to see the changes.
Design Modes
A basic and an advanced mode is supported for editing the form customization of a Data Type Model. You may toggle the mode by setting the switch on the toolbar before entering the design mode.
Basic design mode presents a limited set of customization properties to the user such as only the text and tooltip options. Only in Advanced mode will field properties be shown to set the field's alignment and size options. Also, the hierarchical tree view of items on the form (the Layout View) will only be shown in Advanced mode.
Grouping in form design
Groups as set up in the Type Model do not directly translate to groups on the form. Fields may be grouped on the form by selecting all the desired fields, and selecting Group from the context (right-click) menu. Multiple fields can be selected on the form by holding down the CTRL keyboard key and selecting the fields. Note that the Group option will only be available if the selected fields form a rectangle with all fields inside the rectangle selected.
You can also add a tabbed group by selecting the option from the context menu, or by selecting an existing group and changing it to a tabbed group from its context menu. If you do not wish to have the fields grouped anymore, there is an Ungroup option in the menu that will remove the group but not its fields.
In some cases it may be beneficial to make a group collapsable. A small arrow icon can be added to the group title that can expand or collapse the group display on the form. Consider the Expanded and ExpandButtonVisible properties mentioned in the beginning of this document.
Import/Export Form Design
At the top of the Customization form, two buttons are available to import (Open) and export (Save) a form design. When exporting, an XML file will be created that describes the form design (as currently in design mode). This file can be imported to restore the design as saved to file. In order for the import to be successful and effective the current model will need to be of the same type as the exported form customization’s model. Also note that there might have been changes in the type model from the time the export was done until the time of import. This may result in empty spaces on the form where fields in the exported design are no longer available.