Fields overview

Fields enable you to control how information is captured and displayed in forms. You can add as many fields as you need to a form that are within the limits of your database to capture and display the information required by your application.

Use a workflow to manipulate the attributes of fields. For example, you can set permissions for a group of trim fields or active link control fields so that they are inaccessible to certain groups of users, or you can add tabs in a panel field that are visible to some users such as managers or support staff but not to others.

Fields have properties that determine their structure within AR System. For an alphabetical list of field properties, see Field-Properties.

Core fields in a regular form

These fields provide basic capabilities that most application designers need. For more information, see Core-fields. The following image is of the core fields in a regular form:

Request ID—Unique tracking number that AR System assigns to each request.
Submitter—Login name of the user who submits a request.
Create Date—Date and time that a request is created.
Assigned To—Person assigned to handle the request.
Last Modified By—User who last modified the request.
Modified Date—Date and time that the request was last modified.
Status—Current status of the request.
Short Description—Brief description of the request.
Status History—Time the request's status was last changed and who changed it. This field does not appear in forms. To view the information in this field, users must display a request and select View > Status History.

AR System has templates for blank forms and forms with core fields. You cannot delete core fields from a form created with them, but you can hide them from a user's view and change their labels, location, and appearance.

The following table shows the meaning of the field label styles:

Style	Description
Bold	Field requires a value (default, user-entered, or from a workflow) when a user submits a request.
Italic	Field is automatically populated by AR System.
Plain	Field is optional; users can enter information in it or leave it empty.

Field types

The following table provides information about different field types. For more details, see Creating-and-managing-fields.

Field type	Description
Data	Contains data values stored in database tables. You can set these characteristics of data fields: Whether users can access the field and, if so, whether they can only view the field or also change its contents. Type of data that the field can contain such as characters, integers, dates, or times. Amount of information that the field can contain (field length). Whether the field is visible or hidden. Whether the field is enabled or disabled. Whether the field is required, optional, or display-only. A display-only field is a temporary field for which no space is allocated in the database. Where the field appears on the form. How the field is displayed. For example, its label and physical appearance. How information is entered into the field. For example, by typing or by selecting items from a list or a menu. Field's default value. Whether fields are indexed for faster searches.
Table	Displays data from other requests in the context of the current request. Table field styles are list view, tree view, cell-based, results list, and alert list.
Attachment	Attaches files to requests.
View	Provides a browser window in a form. The browser can display any URL, HTML content, or file format including the contents of attachments that are compatible with a browser.
Data visualization	Augments AR System with HTML-based content such as web pages, flashboards, and other graphics that can interact with the field's parent form through the workflow.
Application list	Displays a list of entry points. An entry point is a link that users click to open forms on the correct server in the required mode, New or Search. AR System automatically generates the contents of the application list. The entry points that a user sees in the list are only those to which the user has access. Any form that contains an application list field can be used as a home page . A home page is a single point of access into AR System.
Horizontal and vertical navigation	Enables users to navigate to the correct screen in an application quickly and easily.
Control	Triggers active links. Control fields include buttons, menu items, and toolbar buttons.
Panel	Organizes other fields on forms into smaller containers that can be hidden when not needed. Panel fields can have various formats, such as tabbed, collapsible, splitter, and accordion.
Trim	Adds boxes, lines, and text to enhance the visual appearance of forms.

Field characteristics

All fields in AR System share the following characteristics in common:

They can be disabled (dimmed) or hidden.
They have a unique field ID and field name.
They can be used in workflow.
They can have context-sensitive help associated with them to help users learn more about them.
Their display properties (including their location on a form and their appearance) can be changed.
Permissions can be set to specify which users can access them.
AR System automatically records their history, including their owner (the user who created them), the user who last modified them, and the date and time that they were last modified.

Field menus

Field menus help users enter data and ensure that the data is consistent. You can attach a menu to any character field (character fields are data fields that hold alphanumeric characters). Menus can be statically defined, dynamically built by searching AR System databases and external databases, or read from text files written by other applications.

Menus are separate objects stored independently of a form. You can create a single menu and use it for multiple forms and for multiple fields on one form.

AR System defines these types of menus:

Menu type	Description
Character	Stored and maintained as a list of items in AR System. Useful for fields that have a predefined series of choices that change infrequently. They can have submenus.
File	Contains items that are created and maintained in a plain text file. The file can be stored on the system where a client is running or on the AR System server. File menus are convenient when you do not want to store the data in the AR System database. To change a file menu, simply update the file, and the changes are applied when the menu is refreshed. File menus can have submenus.
Search	Retrieves information from requests stored in AR System databases. The information is used to build a menu dynamically in the current form. Search menus are often used when the choices in a menu depend on values entered in fields on the current form.
SQL	Retrieves information from databases, but the databases can be outside of AR System. When you access an SQL menu, AR System uses an SQL query to extract the data and then generates the menu from that data.
Data dictionary	Retrieves lists of fields and forms from a AR System server. These menus are useful for creating special configuration interfaces. They are generally not used to help users perform their work.
License Data Dictionary	Retrieves the user and component or application license names per the licensing pricing models that are configured using the license key. As a system administrator, you can define the menu and attach it to the required field in your application.

Where to go from here

Creating and managing fields

Defining tables to display data