Dropdown How To's

How to's for the Dropdown guide.

How to Use a Dropdown?

How to Use a Dropdown

By following the steps below, you can add a Dropdown object to a form and make it ready for use.

1. Add the Object to the Form

1. Ensure the active screen in the development interface is a form.
2. In the Toolbox, locate the Dropdown object.
3. Drag and drop the object onto the form.

2. Configure Its Properties

When you click the Dropdown object, the Property Viewer panel displays the following configurable sections:

General Tab

• Text – The label displayed to the user
• DataSource – Data source binding
• Value Type – The data type of the selected value
• Items – Window for adding static items
• Items Selected – Default/initial selected value
• Enabled / Visible – Activation and visibility settings

Events Tab

• On Value Changed – Triggered when the user selects a new value
• On Load – Triggered when the object is loaded

3. Bind to a Data Source (Optional)

If the Dropdown will be populated from a dataset:

1. Select a data source via the DataSource field.
2. Display Member → The column shown to the user
3. Value Member → The actual value stored by the form

4. Add Static Items

If items will be added manually:

1. Click Items → ...``
2. Add new items in the list window
3. Save your changes

Example Usage

• Allowing the user to select a department
• Selecting a product category
• Choosing a status value (Active, Passive)

With the Dropdown object, you can create clean, organized, and controlled selection areas within your forms.

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What Is a Dropdown?

What Is a Dropdown?

A Dropdown is a selection object that presents values—either retrieved from a data source or manually added by the developer—
to the user in the form of a drop-down list.

It is used when the form requires the user to select a single value from predefined options.

Features

• Provides a compact structure with its drop-down appearance.
• Can be bound to a data source or populated with static items.
• Allows users to make a single selection.
• Business rules can be triggered using events (e.g., On Value Changed).

Common Use Cases

• Department / city / status selection
• Product lists
• Categories
• Role / permission selection
• Providing a clean and standardized selection interface in forms

The Dropdown object offers an easy-to-use and organized user experience.

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How to Use Client Enabled?

What is Client Enabled?

Client Enabled is a property that defines whether a form control is active (enabled) on the client side when the form is first loaded.
If it is set to True, the control is immediately usable by the user.
If it is set to False, the control is disabled and cannot be interacted with until a specific condition or rule activates it.

This property is especially useful for controlling the user’s interaction flow and applying dynamic behaviors using the Rule Manager.

What Does It Do?

The property allows developers to:

• Control when a form control becomes interactive.
• Prevent users from entering or changing data until prerequisites are met.
• Dynamically enable or disable controls based on user input or logic.

Example Scenario — Conditional Activation

Scenario:
A form contains a checkbox called “I Accept Terms” and a text field called “Signature.”
The goal is to make the “Signature” field inactive until the user checks “I Accept Terms.”

Steps to Implement:

1. Select the “Signature” field in the form editor.

2. In the Properties panel, find the Client Enabled field.

3. Set the value to False — the field will now be disabled by default when the form loads.

4. Open the Rule Manager.

5. Add a new rule:

   Condition:

Action:

6. Save and publish the form.

Result:

• When the form loads, the “Signature” field is disabled.
• Once the user checks “I Accept Terms,” the field automatically becomes active and editable.

Behavior Summary

Property State	Description
True	The control is active and ready for user interaction when the form loads.
False	The control is disabled at load time and can be enabled dynamically via rules or code.

Notes & Best Practices

• Use the Client Enabled property to manage client-side interactivity without requiring server actions.
• Combine it with Rule Manager to define when and how controls become active.
• Remember: if server enablement is disabled, the client cannot enable the control even if Client Enabled is set to True.
• By default, this property is set to True (active).

Summary

Client Enabled improves form usability by letting developers control when and how users interact with form controls.
It is essential for creating responsive, condition-based form experiences where user actions dynamically change the form’s state.

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Creating a Dependent (Cascade) Dropdown

How to Create a Dependent (Cascade) Dropdown?

When a form contains two dropdowns and the second dropdown must be automatically filtered based on the selection made in the first dropdown, a Cascade structure is used.
This approach is commonly preferred in scenarios such as country → city, category → subcategory, department → employee, etc.

1. Add Dropdown Objects to the Form

1. In the Toolbox panel, locate the Dropdown object.
2. Drag and drop the first dropdown onto the form → Example name: CountryDropdown
3. Drag and drop the second dropdown onto the form → Example name: CityDropdown

2. Select Data Sources for Each Dropdown

CountryDropdown (Primary Dropdown)

• DataSource → The data source containing the country list
• Value Expression → CountryId
• Display Expression → CountryName
• In the DataSource selection window, set “Table on the document” to fieldSelection.
• In the Field section, choose CountryDropdown.value (the selected value of the first dropdown).
  (This field may vary depending on the ID of the dropdown object.)

CityDropdown (Dependent Dropdown)

• DataSource → The data source containing the city list
• Value Expression → CityId
• Display Expression → CityName

Important: The city data source must contain a column such as CountryId that matches the selection made in the parent dropdown.