Setting column properties

This procedure explains how to set properties for table columns. (In tree views, columns appear as levels. In cell-based tables, columns appear as cell fields.)

 To set column properties

1. To display column properties in the Properties tab, click the appropriate column heading, tree level, or cell field.

   Note

   In cell-based tables, only the top-left cell, called the working cell, is editable. Changes made to this cell are immediately replicated in the other visible cells. The working cell is not a separate or child field; it is an integral part of the cell-based table field.

2. In the Properties tab, set the following column properties.
   
   Column properties

   Property

   Description

   Column Width

   Specify the width of the column in pixels. See also the Auto Fit Columns property. Note The column size in a browser is not exact. The mid tier tries to fit columns into the specified table width. If a column's heading and data are narrow and its specified width is wide, the mid tier might shrink the column width to accommodate other columns so that all columns can be seen. Tree views do not use this property.

   Column Alignment

   Horizontal alignment: By default, all numeric fields are right-aligned. All other fields are left-aligned. Vertical alignment: By default, all cells default to center vertical alignment.

   Display Type

   List view, tree view, alert list, results list  Select one of these options: Read Only — Users cannot change the field value. Editable — Users can change the value in column cells. Editing cells in a table does not affect data in the source form. On refresh or sort, changes that users make are lost, and the data displayed in the table is from the source form. Editing a table also does not affect the modify flag of the form, nor does it affect row colors. Tree views ignore this option. Read Only-HTML — Users cannot change the field value.  In a browser, data in the cell is displayed as HTML. For example, if a cell contains <b>my cell</b>, it is displayed as my cell. Tree views ignore this option. If the column references a display-only field, you can specify the initial value of the column in the Initial Value field (see the following property). For more information about display-only fields, see the description of "Entry Mode" under Field-Properties. The following graphics show the examples of the Read Only and Read Only-HTML display types. In the Read Only-HTML type, the HTML tags get rendered to show the HTML formatting. Read Only: Read Only-HTML: Cell-based Display Type options match the options of the external field to which the cell field is linked.

   Initial Value

   (List view, tree view, cell-based, results list) For columns, levels, and cell fields that reference display-only fields, specify the initial value, which can have up to 255 bytes. If the column, level, or cell field has a display type of Editable or Read Only, its initial value can be either text or the value from another column in the same table. If the column, level, or cell field has a display type of Read Only-HTML, its initial value can be a combination of text and column references. If Default Value is a column reference, such as $Column2$, the value in the display-only column, level, or cell field is set to the corresponding value in that column. If the column reference is invalid, the reference is displayed as text. To specify an initial value, do one or both of the following, depending on the field's display type: Enter text into the Initial Value property's Value cell. Select the Initial Value property, click its ellipsis button, and use the Field Selector dialog box to specify column references. Alert lists do not use this property.

   Name

   To change the column, level, or cell field database name, edit the value of this property. Note To change the column database ID (for example, to control the ID for purposes of shared workflow), you must change the ID after adding the column and before saving the table field. See To add a table field to a form.

   Wrap Text

   To wrap two or more lines of data in table column fields and to allow carriage returns in row data, set this property to True. This property does not apply to tree views.

   Visible

   To hide the column, set the Visible property to False. See also Setting sort order and visible levels.

3. For display-only fields, optionally specify a default value in the Default Value field. See Field properties.

4. (Cell-based only) If necessary, reconfigure the display properties of the working cell to accommodate the cell fields.
    For example, you can change the cell's width and height by dragging its borders.

   Note

   The working cell is part of the cell-based table field; it is not a separate field. When the working cell is selected, however, the Properties view shows only the table field properties that apply to the working cell.

5. To hide the table header or footer, right-click the table, and select Hide Header or Hide Footer.
    To redisplay the header or footer, right-click the table, and select Show Header or Show Footer.

   Note

   The default header and footer contain buttons and menus that enable users to perform table operations such as Refresh and Select All. If you hide the default header and footer, you can use the PERFORM-ACTION-TABLE commands to provide these table operations through custom controls. See Using Run Process and $PROCESS$ commands.

6. Set the remaining properties as necessary. See Field properties.
7. Right-click the form, and select Save.