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- January 31, 2013 at 12:20 pm #2125
Can the “Set field in other instance” be used to get data from another form and update a field in a form that is currently a “new instance”.
Basically I have two forms, one is an invoice approval form and the other is a reference form which has a dropdown box populated with an external list of supplier names.
In the invoice approval form I have a “lookup” button which uses the “show form” command to access the reference form and carries across the instance ID of the invoice approval form.
In the reference form I select a supplier from the dropdown list and use a “Set field in other instance” command to try and return this value back to the invoice approval form before closing the reference form.
Everything looks okay, switching between forms, valid instance ID’s but no data appears to be returned to the invoice form. Is this because the invoice form is a new instance and has never been submitted.
Appreciate I could put the dropdown list in the invoice form, but trying to reduce the number of versions as the dropdown list is updated.
January 31, 2013 at 4:22 pm #6390Is there a reason the Invoice form needs to stay open after the child Reference form is created? If the Invoice form instance is submitted and you have the instance ID, you can use a Set Field in Other instance, a form connection with an update or insert action, or a show form (parent) and pass custom parameters.
February 4, 2013 at 12:55 pm #6393Hi Dennis, yes there is a reason and I probably didn’t explain things very well.
I use a Reference form which will only ever have one instance. This reference form contains a number of dropdown boxes populated by data taken from other external sources. The thinking here is two-fold, firstly since the form has to be updated and published every time a dropdown box contents are changed, it keeps the number of version changes limited to this one reference form. Secondly I assume adding a couple of dropdown boxes to forms (like my invoice approval form) increases the size of the form.
On this basis I decided to use this approach. For example on a new instance of the invoice approval form, when I get to entering the supplier’s name, I wanted to access the reference form, find the supplier from a dropdown box and return the data to the invoice approval form. The invoice form will remain open until all the data is entered.
As I tried to explain earlier, I use a lookup button which opens the reference form and once a supplier is selected I am trying to close the reference form and return the selected data back to the invoice form. I was trying to use a “set field in other instance” command but that doesn’t seem to work.
Your help is appreciated – can I just add that the invoice approval form is only one of many forms that will access the reference form dropdown boxes.
Regards.
February 4, 2013 at 5:07 pm #6394As I understand it the rationale for handling the process with two forms instead of one is to minimize the size and scope of the Invoice form. Another set of drop-downs populated by connections will not effect the performance of the Invoice form more than the back-and-forth with the Reference form.
If I were managing this process I would do it with one form with dynamic drop-downs populated by your outside data sources.
February 5, 2013 at 6:25 pm #6395Hi Dennis,
The rationale isn’t just the process of two forms in terms of size and scope. I have six financial forms, all of which have a supplier field. I can put a dropdown box in each one of these forms, however every time we add a new supplier I would have to update six dropdown boxes and increase the version number of each of the six forms. The rationale was to have one master form with the supplier dropdown box and to find a way to refer to it from my six accounts forms.
Can this be done?
February 5, 2013 at 11:49 pm #6396I still do not understand why the drop-downs in the financial forms cannot be dynamic. When the form opens use a connection (form, database, whatever) to populate the supplier drop-down. You can do what you are describing with a form connection.
February 5, 2013 at 11:49 pm #6397I still do not understand why the drop-downs in the financial forms cannot be dynamic. When the form opens use a connection (form, database, whatever) to populate the supplier drop-down. You can do what you are describing with a form connection.
February 6, 2013 at 6:05 pm #6398Hi Dennis,
Now understand what you are saying about populating the dropdowns when the form opens using a connection. Unfortunately I am going to have to ask two questions:
How do you populate a dropdown from a connection as the choices seem to be all lists.
Apparently I only have access to forms for connections – how should I store 2000 names and account numbers on a form that a connection can read.
Regards
February 7, 2013 at 4:03 pm #6400You should have access to a Connection Agent that allows you to integrate with outside data sources. Please see our help guide about the Connection Agent and the different data bases with which you can integrate: http://www.perfectforms.com/Documentation/manual/html/?lookup_agent.htm. Our video tutorials on Connections will also be helpful: http://www.perfectforms.com/training_videos.php
If you do not have the Connection Agent set up there please let me know and I can coordinate with you to install it.
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