A GUID field creates a list of options that can be selected from a list. This list can be generated in multiple different ways, each of which will have their own specified field type to keep the creation process as simple and clear as possible.
There are multiple ways to display a GUID list:
Drop Down Combobox
Single Select
Single Select Chips
Multi Select
Multi Select Switches
Multi Select Chips
The Chips appearance in terms of roundness and selection type can be adjusted in the field definition.
The different options for a GUID list are:
- GUID Concepts
- GUID Config List
- GUID Field Options
- GUID TSQL
- GUID TSQL Instance
- GUID TSQL Root
All GUID fields require XML Element Name to allow the data to be saved. It can be a Required Field or Lookup Field. If a dropdown combo box is used then a Jump Button can be enabled to allow the user to go directly to the record that is selected. The Jump Button Label will determine what text is shown on the button and should clearly explain to users what the button is for. Only one selected result may be jumped to. A Tooltip may also be used to ensure the user understands what they will be selecting and why.
GUID fields also contain a Default Value(s) field where you can specify what value(s) are selected by default. It’s important to note that you must type the name of the item you want selected without any typos, the name is also case sensitive. If your Display Type is Multi Select then you can have multiple items selected by default by separating the items with a comma with no spaces (e.g., “item1,item2”).
GUID fields also allow you to specify if Auto Postback should be enabled. What this means is when the field is updated the page will reload to capture any possible UX changes that could have occurred from the fields value changing.
The Placeholder Text field is used to specify the text that is displayed when no item(s) are selected. This is only applicable when the Display Type is Drop Down Combobox or Multi Select.
For some GUID field types there are Jump button fields. Add jump button determines if a button will be displayed when a selection is made and when the button is selected the user will be navigated to the selected instance. Jump Button Label determines the text that will be displayed on the button. Open jump instance in popup determines if the instance from the jump button will be opened in a popup window or not.
Below you’ll find more details on the different GUID field types and an example of their field definition.
GUID Concepts
The GUID Concepts field is used to produce a list of options from which a user can select one, or multiple results.
Here is an example of the field definition for a concepts GUID:
For this type of GUID, only instances of a particular concept can be displayed. The type of concept should be selected in the List Concepts dropdown list and will be automatically filtered to only display the concepts which are visible from the form that the GUID concept is on. The Hierarchy Direction and Distance fields are used to further filter the list of concepts that will display. You can also choose if a Jump Button should be enabled and what the text on the button should be.
GUID Config List
A GUID config list will draw the list of available options from a configuration list that will be defined at the Functionality level.
Here is an example of the field definition for a GUID config list:
The appropriate Configuration List will be selected from the dropdown of all the available configuration lists for this Functionality.
GUID Field Options
GUID field options allows the user to define their own list of options that do not require full instances elsewhere in the application. Field options are used for lists whose values are simple and static.
Below is an example of the field definition for a field options GUID:
Each field option must be added individually to the Field Options table, which is stored directly in the GUID field. Because this list is not called from elsewhere in the application, it must be updated manually in the field definition if the options need to be changed.
Here is an example of the field options form:
The field option will consist of the Option Name and a Sequence. If no sequence is provided all available options will be sorted alphabetically. An InstanceGUID will be automatically generated when the form is saved. Custom CSS can also be provided to alter the appearance of the field option when displayed in the GUID field. Restrict visibility by condition allows you to specify conditional filters to determine if this field option will be available or not.
GUID TSQL
The GUID TSQL field will use a TSQL stored procedure to create the list of options. Whatever the stored procedure returns is what will display in the field.
Below is an example of the GUID TSQL field definition:
GUID TSQL Instance
The TSQL instance GUID field will use a TSQL stored procedure to create the list of options, searching from the instance GUID of the form that the field is on. It can be used to find a list of options that will be lower in the hierarchy than the initial form, created as part of a child list.
The type of concept will need to be selected from a dropdown list, along with the name of the TSQL Stored Procedure that will be used to filter and sort the list. The Hierarchy Distance determines how far the list of concepts will be stored from the initial form; a hierarchy distance of 1 will allow the user to pull a list of concepts created directly from the same form. A distance of 2 would allow a list created under one of those forms to be pulled.
Here is an example of the GUID TSQL instance field definition:
GUID TSQL Root
The TSQL root GUID fields works in the same way as the TSQL instance GUIDs, using a provided TSQL stored procedure to filter a list of concepts for display in the dropdown list. However, because this field type searches from the root of the hierarchy rather than the instance, it can be used to list concepts that are not descended from the form that this field is on.
The Hierarchy Distance in this instance will count the number of steps from the root workspace down to the intending list of concepts that will be filtered by the stored procedure. The name of the Stored Procedure should be supplied.
Below is an example of a GUID TSQL root field definition:
