Building Forms

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Chapter 3 Working with Forms : Building Forms

Building Forms

Forms are resources that collect user input. A form consists of a layout scheme defined by HTML templates, and controls that become input fields at runtime.

Layouts

Every form has a layout that defines the basic structure of the form, such as the number and placement of panes, and whether panes can repeat in a form. Layouts are defined using two HTML template files, a basic template for displaying the form outline in TIBCO Designer, and a more elaborate template used when the form is rendered at runtime.

TIBCO BusinessWorks FormBuilder provides default layout schemes that can be used without modification. Custom layouts can also be defined. For more information, see Chapter 4, Building Custom Controls and Layouts.

Controls

Controls are user entry fields in a form, such as text fields or radio buttons. Attributes of a control can be set at design time or at runtime. For more information on setting attributes at runtime, see Using Dynamic Data with Controls.

TIBCO BusinessWorks FormBuilder provides a set of default controls that can be used without modification. Custom controls can also be defined. For details, see Chapter 4, Building Custom Controls and Layouts.

Creating Form Resources

To Create a Form

1.

With a folder selected in the project panel, drag a Form resource from the Form palette to the design panel.

Figure 5 Create a Form

2.

Click the Form item in the project to display the form outline in the design panel. The Single Column layout is used by default.

3.

Specify a layout by selecting one of the following options from the Layout dropdown list in the Configuration tab: Single Column, Two Columns, Single Column with Grid, Two Columns with Grid, or Custom Layout.

For detailed definitions of each option, see the TIBCO BusinessWorks FormBuilder Palette Reference. See Appendix A, Forms Tutorial, for an example of the default Two Columns with Grid layout.

4.

Add controls by dragging control resources from the Form Controls palette to the correct pane in the design panel.

5.

Click the control in the project panel to select it, then specify configuration details. For detailed descriptions of control fields, see the TIBCO BusinessWorks FormBuilder Palette Reference.

6.

Click Apply.