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Introduction to Forms

The iProcess Workspace (Browser) can display the following types of forms:

•	TIBCO® General Interface (GI) Forms

•	TIBCO Forms

•

ASP Forms

•

JSP Forms

•	BusinessWorks™ FormBuilder Forms

•	iProcess Modeler Forms

When a user starts a case that causes a form to display (i.e., when the first step in the procedure is addressed to SW_STARTER), or opens a work item, the iProcess Workspace (Browser) determines which type of form to display by going through the steps listed below.

Note that the order in which it looks for each form type is significant. In other words, if a GI Form is specified for the step, that form type takes precedence; if there is not a GI Form but there is a TIBCO Form specified, that takes precedence over the other form types, and so on.

1.	Has a TIBCO® General Interface (GI) form been defined for the step?

−	If the <Forms> element in the application’s config.xml file specifies a GI form for the step/work item, that GI form is displayed.

For more information, see TIBCO® General Interface Forms Interface.

2.	Has a TIBCO Form been defined for the step?

−	If a TIBCO Form for the step/work item has been defined and deployed in Business Studio, that TIBCO Form is displayed.

−	If you are using TIBCO Forms, the “base” URL of the form’s location must be specified in the webDAVRoot parameter in the application’s config.xml file.

−	For more information about the webDavRoot parameter, see WebDAV Root Setting.

−	For more information about creating TIBCO Forms, see the TIBCO Business Studio™ Forms User’s Guide.

3.	Has an ASP Form, JSP Form, or FormBuilder Form been defined for the form?

−

One of these form types has been specified for the step if the ExternalFormURI parameter in the Action Processors’s configuration file, apConfig.xml, contains a value. This specifies the “base” URL to the form’s location. The remainder of the URL is obtained from the value in the Formflow Form field in the step definition.

−	For more information about the ExternalFormURI parameter, see External Form URI.

−	For more information about ASP Forms, see ASP Forms.

−	For more information about JSP Forms, see JSP Forms.

−	For more information about FormBuilder Forms, see the TIBCO BusinessWorks iProcess Forms Plug-in User’s Guide.

4.	A TIBCO iProcess Modeler Form is displayed.

−	If none of the previously listed forms are specified for the step, it is assumed the form to display is an iProcess Modeler-created form. If this is the case, the form to display is specified in the step’s definition.

−	For more information, see Customizing iProcess Modeler Forms.

External Forms / GI Forms

Forms are divided into two groups:

•	External Forms - This category includes the following types of forms:

−

ASP Forms

−

JSP Forms

−	BusinessWorks FormBuilder Forms

−	iProcess Modeler Forms

•	GI Forms - This category includes the following types of forms:

−	TIBCO® General Interface Forms

−	TIBCO Forms

You may see references to external forms and GI Forms in the documentation. Depending on the situation, the system may behave differently for each of these form categories. For instance, you can customize the appearance of the window when displaying work item forms — this is done with the <BrowserFeatures> record in the config.xml file. The <BrowserFeatures> record contains subordinate <ExternalForms> and <GIForms> records — these subordinate records allow customization for each of the form categories. For more information about setting browser features, see Specifying Browser Window Features.

Also note that when external work item forms are opened, the work item is locked by an external process. Therefore, the work item list does not reflect the locked state of the work item because it was performed externally. Because of this, an externalLock configuration parameter is provided that allows you to specify a time delay (in milliseconds) that causes the work item list to be refreshed after a work item is opened externally. The delay provides sufficient time for the external lock of the work item to take place before the list is updated to reflect the locked state. For more information, see Refresh Work Item List After Work Item is Opened Externally.

Dialog/Window Characteristics

When a WCC or client application displays a work item form, it displays it either in a preview pane, in a separate dialog, or in a separate browser window. You can choose which of these formats you want from within the application (for more information, see the TIBCO iProcess Workspace (Browser) User’s Guide).

Note, however, the type of form you are using determines which of the form formats (preview pane, dialog, or separate browser window) are selectable from the application, as follows:

•	if your application uses GI forms, you can choose to open them in any of the three available formats: Preview Pane, dialog, or separate browser window.

•	if your application uses external forms, they will always be opened in a separate browser window.

Also note that “dialogs” are further subdivided into the following:

•	Webpage dialogs

•	Application dialogs

Whether the work item form opens in a “Webpage” dialog or an “application” dialog depends on the setting of the “dialog” attribute in the <BrowserFeatures> record in the application’s config.xml file. For more information, see the “dialog” attribute description on page 44.

The following describes the differences in behavior between the different types of dialogs/windows:

•	Minimize/Maximize Buttons - Webpage dialogs do not have minimize nor maximize buttons. Separate browser windows and application dialogs have these buttons.

•	Floating Window Outside Application Window - Both Webpage dialogs and separate browser windows can be floated outside the parent application's window, whereas application dialogs cannot.

•	Browser Feature Attributes - The Browser Feature attributes (i.e., the attributes of the <BrowserFeatures> record in the config.xml file) supported depends on the dialog/window and the type of browser used, as follows:

−	Webpage dialog: If using Internet Explorer, only the "resizable" and "status" attributes are supported. If using Firefox, the supported attributes are: "dialog", "directories", "location", "menubar", "minimizable", and "toolbar".

−	Application dialog: None of the Browser Feature attributes are supported for this type of dialog.

−	Separate browser window: The table on page 44 lists the browser features that are supported for each of the available browsers.

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Close as child window: Both Webpage dialogs and application dialogs are children of the parent window, therefore if the parent window is closed (or minimized), the Webpage/application dialog is also closed (or minimized). Separate browser windows do not close (or minimize) when the parent is closed (or minimized).

Copyright © Cloud Software Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved