maint Element

The maint Element lets you view and edit SDI column values and add SDIs.

SDI Information can be presented in a form (single SDI) or grid (multiple SDIs) style defined by the LabVantage CSS, in editable or view-only mode, with flexible control over column attributes.

When used to add SDIs, the new SDIs can be based on an SDI Template.

See Sample Maintenance Page.

Property Name	Description
SDC	Identifier of the SDC for SDIs displayed in the Maintenance Form or Grid.
style	Determines how SDIs are displayed based on page functionality: Value Description Form Generates a Maintenance Form. This is the page style for displaying a single SDI. FormWithFieldGroups Groups columns to display in specific fieldsets on Maintenance Forms. Use this with the Group property. See Tab Groups and Field Groups in Maintenance Forms below. FormWithTabGroups Groups columns to display in specific tabs on Maintenance Forms. Use this with the Group property. See Tab Groups and Field Groups in Maintenance Forms below. Grid Generates a Maintenance Grid. This is the page style for displaying multiple SDIs. GridWithCheckbox Also generates a Maintenance Grid, but adds a checkbox before each SDI. Use this style if you want to perform an operation only on selected SDIs. GridWithTabGroups Groups columns to display in specific tabs on Maintenance Grids. Use this with the Group property. See Tab Groups in Maintenance Grids below. Functionality of the form and grid are identical. This property determines only which class in the LabVantage CSS renders the style.
Form Columns	Number of columns displayed on each row. This applies only to the Form style (above). For example, if you are displaying values from the s_sampleid and createdt columns: Form Columns = 1 s_sampleid S-01 createdt 6/1/01 12:00 AM Form Columns = 2 s_sampleid S-01 createdt 6/1/01 12:00 AM
Fixed Columns	Generates a Maintenance Grid that scrolls horizontally (for display of multiple SDIs) with left-most columns remaining stationary. Enter the number of stationary columns here. Selecting cells by clicking and dragging causes the page to scroll automatically. If a the content of a Maintenance Grid is larger than the page area, scrolling the grid (horizontally or vertically) maintains the column and row headers at the top of the page.
View Only	Yes renders the element to make it viewable only. The user can not interact with anything in the element.
EventNotify	A value of "true" or "false" either posts or does not post an EventNotify Action onto the ToDo List when the result set loads.
Template Id	If you are using one of the Maintenance Grid styles (defined by the style property above), you can specify an SDI Template here. Each time you add a row to the grid, the row is populated with values from the SDI Template. The Template Id is passed to the sdirow tag.
Columns	Specifies attributes of columns on the Maintenance Form or Grid. Property Name Description Identifier Unique identifier for this item, rendered as an ID attribute in the HTML tag. Column Id Identifier of the SDI column to be displayed in the form or grid. title Text displayed to identify the Column Id. Mode Specifies how the input form control (generated HTML input tag) works. This tool automatically determines if you have chosen an appropriate mode to display the data (defined in the third column below). If not, it selects an appropriate mode. "Mode" supports Expression-Based Properties. Possible values: Value Description Designed for use with . . . input Equivalent to type=text attribute of HTML input tag. As an example, this lets you use the page to add SDIs. Inputs such as the "description" column of SDCs. readonly Equivalent to readonly attribute of HTML input tag. All data. hidden Equivalent to type=hidden attribute of HTML input tag. All data. lookup Text field with capability to open "Lookup Page" and find a value of "string" data type. SDC data (such as finding SDI Ids or SDC links). dropdowncombo This is a dropdownlist (equivalent to HTML select tag that inserts a select form control), but the field is an editable "input" field. Typically used for Reference Type data. dropdownlist Equivalent to HTML select tag that inserts a select form control. You can also use this property in conjunction with the Dropdown SQL property (below). This lets you retrieve data resulting from execution of a SQL script specified by the DropdownSQL property. SDC data and Reference Type data. dropdownlistvalidated Explicitly marks an existing Reference Value that does not exist in the current dropdownlist.       Reference Values that have been removed. For example, the Reference Value "NotExists" is added to the "Priority" Reference Type. The "NotExists" value is selected for a Sample, then the Sample is saved. After saving, the "NotExists" value is then removed from the Reference Type. The "NotExists" value is then rendered in the dropdownvalidated list as shown below. checkbox Equivalent to type=checkbox attribute of HTML input tag. Typically used for Reference Type data. This works the same as it does in HTML, i.e., you need two values. Therefore, use a Reference Type having two Reference Values. The first Reference Value you specify is the "checked" value, the second is the "unchecked". When using checkbox mode, set the Display Value to Y;N (or similar) if the column is not linked to a Reference Type. radiobutton/vertical Equivalent to type=radio attribute of HTML input tag. This arranges the radios vertically within the column. Reference Type data, generally best for choosing from more than two values. radiobutton/horizontal Equivalent to type=radio attribute of HTML input tag. This arranges the radios horizontally within the column. datelookup Date field with capability to open a search window and find a value of "date" data type. LabVantage "date" data type. Also see the Date Format property (below). password Entry field that displays asterisks for each character you enter. Entering passwords. retrievedata Retrieves the value in the column but does not render it on the page. Use this when you want to replace the value of another column's property with the value of this column. For example, if you setup a samplestatus column in retrievedata mode, then setup a pseudocolumn with the value samplestatus: [samplestatus], you will see the actual sample status (value represented by the [samplestatus] variable) in the pseudocolumn. Without using retrievedata mode, the [samplestatus] variable would not be replaced with the actual column value. This differs from the hidden property above... the hidden property renders the value on the page. formattedtext Uses a Formatted Text Editor to edit the column. See Formatted Text Editor below. iconlookup Installs an icon lookup. Use this when you want to lookup an image as shown below. displayicon Renders an icon configured by a Reference Type. Use this when you want to render an icon as shown below. The icon is defined by the Reference Type specified by the Dropdown or Icon RefType property. If an icon is not configured in the Reference Type, you can use an HTML image tag for the Display Value. coordinatelookup Uses a map (defined in the Map Policy)to lookup and return the selected coordinates. SDCs for which "Allow Coordinates" has been enabled. default Same as not choosing any of these Mode properties. If you do not choose a Mode property (that is, leave it blank), nodes that inherit this property will never actually be blank... they will inherit the previous node's Mode. So, rather than not choosing any Mode at all, choose "default". Behavior These properties provide a declarative column dependency expression to define if a column is mandatory, visible, or editable based on other column values. This is supported only in the maint Element. These properties support a Groovy expression based on other column values. All respond dynamically when a User changes values of depending columns on the client-side before saving. Property Name Description Hide Field Provides options of "Yes", "No", and "Yes (Clear Value)". The Groovy expression should return Y, N or C for the three options (respectively). Mandatory Provides options of "Yes" and "No" to indicate whether or not the field is mandatory. The Groovy expression should return a boolean true/false or Y/N. This property supersedes the "Mandatory" check box in the Validation editor. Read Only Provides options of "Yes" and "No" to indicate whether or not the field is read-only. The Groovy expression should return a boolean true/false or Y/N. Validation Client-side validation rules for text entered into input fields. Non-conformal inputs throw an error when attempting to save. These default JavaScript functions are in WEB-CORE/elements/scripts/maint.js. Checking "Mandatory" makes the input a mandatory field. Validation Type Description Date LabVantage Date (D) Data Type. This also provides options for validation on "Past date only", "Future date only", "Today or past date only", and "Today or future date only". Length Integer length of the the LabVantage String (S) Data Type. Specify the "Length" within a "range". Range values are inclusive. For example, a range of 6 to 12 means that the string length must be 6, 12, or any integer between. Number LabVantage Number (N) Data Type. Specify the length within a range as you would when specifying a "Length" (above). Integer Decimal Regarding validation of Date (LabVantage Date (D) Data Type): • Date validation is enabled by default in the OOB configuration if a column is a "Date" Data Type and no validation is configured. • If Date validation is set to one of the provided options, Date validation occurs before "Length" range validation. • Date validation handles all valid months and dates except for differences between leap years and non-leap years. Valid dates include Jan 31, June 30, Feb 29, etc. Invalid dates include Jan 32, June 31, Feb 30, etc. Feb 29 in a non-leap year is treated as valid and rolls forward to Mar 1. • Valid Date formats include the specified default "Date" and "Date Only" formats, any Java standard Short and Medium date/time format combinations, and LabVantage date syntax (such as n or n+3). • Date validation is specific to the User's Locale. Regarding validation of Number/Integer/Decimal (LabVantage Number (N) Data Type): • Number validation is enabled by default in the OOB configuration if a column is a Number Data Type and no validation is configured. Grouping separators are not allowed in the validation. • Checking the "Do Not Validate" option disables validation of the Number Data Type. This is provided to allow custom business rules to process special numeric input. If you want to define your own JavaScript validation function, specify it using the Customjs function (below). NOTE: The maint Element has built-in client-side validation. The following varchar fields are rejected: Columns Containing SDI KeyId All Other Columns ' (single quote) ; (semicolon) " (double quote) \ (backslash) | (pipe) ; (semicolon) [] (square brackets) Tip Tooltip for the column value (supports value substitution). Custom JS If you do not want to use the default validation scripts above, specify your custom validation JavaScript function. Make certain to set the Includes property in the Maint Page Type Properties. If you are using one of the Maintenance Grid styles (defined by the style property above), you can also specify one of the JavaScript Functions for Maintenance Grids described below. If you write your own validation function, we recommend returning an empty string ("") if the validation passes, and returning a message if the validation fails. Link URL Specifies attributes of a hyperlinked title, activated by clicking the text displayed by the title property: Property Name Description HRef Destination of the link, specified as a call to the Request Controller. For syntax rules and guidelines, see Request Controller and Variables. Target Name of the window in which the linked page opens. You can enter any name here, and the new window (browser instance) will automatically assume that name. If you do not specify a target, the linked page opens in the current window. Tip Popup text displayed on mouseover. CSS Class Class in the CSS defined for the Layout. The default CSS is WEB-CORE/stylesheets/sapphire.css. Lookup URL Defines the Lookup page. This works only if the Mode property of the column is "lookup". See Lookup Page Examples for examples of how to use these properties. Property Name Description HRef URL to which the Lookup icon is linked. Tip Help text displayed on mouseover. SDC Id SDC to use for a custom Lookup page. If you have specified a Lookup Page, this is ignored. If you have not specified a Lookup Page, the SDC is obtained from the HRef attributes. Restrictive Where Optional restrictive where clause that either combines with the provided List page's restrictive where clause, or is used as the primary restrictive where clause on the default Lookup page. Default Query Default query to apply. Query From From clause for the Lookup page. Query Where Where clause for the Lookup page. Selector Type Checkboxes or radio buttons. You need an Accept button to return these. If you do not specify a value, the Lookup page uses either the provided List page's set value, or the new List page's defaults. Multiple items are returned semicolon-delimited. Lookup Columns Columns that are either merged with the List page specified by the HRef property, or (if not specified by the HRef property) used to define a new List page: Property Name Description Identifier If you are overriding/merging with an existing List page, specify the same identifier as the column on the List page. Otherwise, this creates a new column. Column Id If merging with an existing List page, if no match can be found for the identifier, this tries to match on a column id. If a match is still not found, a new column is created. title title of the column. Mode Specifies how the column is populated: Display Only Show the value, but do not populate the column. Return Only Populate the column, but do not show the value. Display and Return Show the value and populate the column. Hidden Only Hidden fields. Display Value Value displayed in place of the corresponding retrieved value (see Display Value below for example). Pseudo Column See Pseudo Column below for example. Map to Column If you return more than one column, use this to specify the destination of the returned values. Width Column width in pixels. Searchable Determines if the value in the Dynamic Lookup is searchable. See Dynamic Lookups. Dialog Type LabVantage modal dialog or the browser's default dialog. Dynamic Lookup Enables the field for Dynamic Lookup. See Dynamic Lookups. Allow Create New on Dynamic Lookup Determines if the field supports Create New SDI functionality. Create New Options If "Allow Create New on Dynamic Lookup" is "Yes", this defines QuickCreateSDI page. Property Name Description Create New Text title displayed on the page header. QuickCreateSDI Page QuickCreateSDI Page Template Optional Template to use for the page. Display Value Values displayed in place of the corresponding retrieved values. Separate each with a semicolon. For example, if you retrieve values from the createby column, you could specify JDrake=JD. All values retrieved as JDrake would then be displayed as JD. This works only if you replace the entire retrieved string (it does not work on partial strings). Pseudocolumn A "pseudocolumn" is a column that is rendered on the page, but does not exist in the SDC. Do not choose a database columnid when specifying a pseudocolumn. If you want to access this pseudocolumn using a JavaScript function or another pseudocolumn, specify an identifier of your own choice. This value you enter can be HTML or a Variable. For example: • If you enter an HTML image tag, then specify a link (using the Link URL property above), the image becomes a hyperlink. • If you use a variable, the variable must point to one of the columns defined by the Column Id property. In this case, you can hide the actual column so that only the pseudocolumn is displayed. For example, you could specify Date: [moddt] to display the date and time a Sample was last modified (such as Date: 8/1/2003 15:36:24), but only if you have previously chosen moddt as one of the columns to be rendered. Column Span Number of columns over which the current column spans (must be less than or equal to the total number of columns). Start New Row When using a Form style, "Yes" always place the column at the start of a new row. Size in Grid Size of the input field when using the Maint Grid format. Events JavaScript function to execute in response to an event occurring on the form control: Property Name Description Identifier Unique identifier for this item, rendered as an ID attribute in the HTML tag. Event DHTML event that executes the JavaScript function. If you specify an onChange event, see Behavior of onChange Events in maint Elements below. This also supports an OnKeyUp event. JavaScript JavaScript function to execute in response to the event. Your function can be in a *.js file referenced from the page, or in the page itself. Date Format Format in which date/time is displayed, as determined by the user's Locale. For information about how LabVantage handles Locale, see Locale and Time Zone in the topic Internationalization and Localization. The popup calendar and all date validation routines recognize and function with the chosen format. If you choose a format that specifies only date (without time), the time defaults to midnight in your time zone. Be advised that this could be a day earlier for a user in a different time zone. Dropdown SQL SQL script that retrieves data when the Column Mode property (above) is set to dropdownlist. If two columns are selected, the first column is used as the actual data, and the second column is used as the Display Value. For example, if you setup a sampledesc column in dropdownlist mode, then specify the DropdownSQL script select s_productid, productdesc from s_product the maint Element should render a dropdown list of productdesc for the sampledesc field. If the query is select s_productid from s_product the Element should render a list of Product SDIs. "Dynamic Dropdowns" can also be created to alter the contents of a dropdown based on the selection made in another dropdown. See Dynamic Dropdowns below.  Dropdown or Icon RefType If the Mode is dropdownlist, this is the Reference Type that defines the selectable values. NOTE: Reference Values will be automatically translated unless the "Translate Value" property (below) is explicitly set to "No". If the Mode is displayicon, this is the Reference Type that defines the icon to display. Dropdown Values If the Column Mode property is dropdownlist or dropdowncombo, these are the selectable values. Dropdown Definition If the Mode is dropdownlist, this retrieves data based on an SDC definition: Property Name Description SDC Id The SDC for which data is retrieved. Query From Value of the From clause for the query. Query Where Value of the Where clause for the query. Query Order By Value of the Order By clause for the query. Value Column Actual column value. Display Column Column value displayed to users. "Dynamic Dropdowns" can also be created to alter the contents of a dropdown based on the selection made in another dropdown. See Dynamic Dropdowns below. Translate Value See Translating Properties in section 2 Properties Overview for details regarding property translation. In general: • "Yes" translates all values in the column regardless of context. • "No" does not translate any values. • "No (Allow Edit Translations)" adds an icon to to the field which (onClick) opens a Translation Maintenance page. This is supported only for column modes input, readonly, lookup, dropdownlist, dropdowncombo, and radiobutton. Default Value Default value to use when creating new SDIs. If creating the new SDIs from an SDI Template, the Default Value overrides the value in the Template. For columns accepting text input, you can specify variables such as [currentuser] (the current user). For columns accepting the date, you can specify relative date format such as [today] or (N+3), the latter meaning "now plus 3 days". When the Element style is set to render as a Maint Grid, the Default Values are applied to each SDI as you add rows to the grid. Group Column where you want to insert a tab or field break. For example, suppose you have defined three columns... column A column B column C If you want two tab groups, with columns A and B in the group and column C in the second, enter column C. See Tab Groups and Field Groups. NOTE: You can use the "Group" property to hide a Tab Group. Suppose your Element has a "tab01" and "tab02", and you want to hide "tab02" in "Edit" mode. You could return "tab01", and set the "Mode" to "hidden". Language Direction Determines the Language direction for this specific field. "LTR" and "RTL" force this field to always be presented left-to-right or right-to-left, respectively. When set to "Default" (or left blank), the column uses the direction defined by the current User's Language. This can be used to override the Language for fields that continue to display English text regardless of the User's Language (such as Groovy or Calculation Expressions). Phrases for Formatted Text If this column uses the Formatted Text Editor and you want to use Phrases, this defines the Phrase Type. Property Name Description Phrase Type Phrase Type used for the Formatted Text Editor. Phrase Lookup Lookup page for the Phrase Type.
Texts	Substitutes your text in place of the default text rendered on the page. All of this text is displayed in response to failure of client-side validation according to rules set by the Validation property (above). Property Name Description Validation Fail Validation failure. Mandatory Not Filled A mandatory field has not been populated. Not a Number Returned Data Type does not match validation rule. Not an Integer Not a Decimal Not a Date Value Not In Range Returned data does not pass Number/Integer/Decimal range validation rules. Length Not In Range Returned data does not pass Length range validation rules.
Tab Text	Alternate text to display on the tab instead of the default, which uses the singular or plural SDC name.
Show	Determines whether or not to display the Element on the page.
Enable Dynamic Audit	Determines if "Dynamic Auditing" is enabled for the Page Type. See Dynamic Auditing for a complete description of this feature with examples. Alternatively, this property can be left blank, in which case the "Enable Dynamic Audit" property setting in the MaintenanceForm Page Type is used.

LabVantage locks data being accessed by another user. For current data locking strategy, see Data Locking Strategy in section 2 Properties Overview.

The following JavaScript functions deal with Maintenance Grids. These are in WEB-CORE\elements\scripts\maint.js. See WEB-CORE\pagetypes\maint\scripts\mainpage.js for examples. Note that the elementid parameter lets you work with multiple grids on the same page.

In Maintenance Grids, right-clicking in a cell opens a Shortcut Menu, which provides the functionality described below. Clipboard shortcut keys are also supported. See Navigator Policy → Using the Edit Set Navigator (Step 6) for more information.

Menu Item	Description
Cut	Cuts the contents of the cell that currently has focus. This behavior is subtly different in Chrome and Internet Explorer (see Navigator Policy → Using the Edit Set Navigator (Step 6)).
Copy	Copies the contents of the cell that currently has focus. This behavior is subtly different in Chrome and Internet Explorer (see Navigator Policy → Using the Edit Set Navigator (Step 6)).
Paste	Copies the contents of a cell that has been Cut or Copied to the cell that currently has focus. This behavior is subtly different in Chrome and Internet Explorer (see Navigator Policy → Using the Edit Set Navigator (Step 6)).
Fill Down	Copies the contents of the cell that currently has focus to all selected cells in the same column of the rendered Element. To use: a. Put the cell to be copied in focus (click or tab). b. Select all cells to which you want to copy the value. These must be in the same column of the rendered Element. c. Select Fill Down from the Shortcut Menu.
Fill Across	Copies the contents of the cell that currently has focus to all selected cells in the same row of the rendered Element. To use: a. Put the cell to be copied in focus (click or tab). b. Select all cells to which you want to copy the value. These must be in the same row of the rendered Element. c. Select Fill Across from the Shortcut Menu.
Increase Down	"Increase Down" works with text, numeric, and date fields. Text and numeric fields can be increased by integer. Date fields can be increased by days, hours, or minutes as shown below.

These features are also provided:

In response to an onChange event, the maint Element (as well as Data Entry Elements) execute a default JavaScript function. You can substitute your own function, or execute yours in addition to the default function.

For the syntax required to do this, see the onchange attribute of the LabVantage Custom Tag sdiinput (LabVantage uses this tag to render HTML input form controls).

The style property contains the "FormWithTabGroups" and "FormWithFieldGroups" options. In Maintenance Forms, these tell the Element how to interpret the Group property, i.e., whether it is rendering columns in groups of tabs or fieldsets.

For each Columns property collection, the Group property defines breaks between each Tab Group or Field Group. For example, if you are rendering tabs, three Groups defined as A, A, and B renders two groups of columns on Tab A, and one group of columns on Tab B.

Tab Groups define groups of tabs rendered by the <sapphire: tabgroup> tag. Field groups do not require a tag.

Tab Groups (implemented with either the <sapphire: tab> or <sapphire: tabgroup> tag) re-select the selected tab after a save. This "memory" of the selected tab should reset when a user first enters a MaintenanceForm page.

If a Column Id is not specified in the Group property, the primary key is used as shown below.

Tab Groups in Maintenance Grids are configured in a manner similar to Tab Groups and Field Groups in Maintenance Forms. The style property contains the "GridWithTabGroups" option. In Maintenance Grids, this tells the Element how to interpret the Group property to allow columns to be separated into tab groups.

As an example, consider the maint Element on the Sample Maintenance page with three Product columns in a single "Product" Group:

This inserts the Tab Group into the Grid:

Note that if you set the Mode to "FormWithTabGroups", selecting more than one row in the Navigator or SDI List page dynamically switches to the "GridWithTabGroups" mode. In other words, your Tab Group will appear on both the Maintenance Form and the Maintenance Grid as shown below.

The Fixed Columns property determines columns that are fixed across all tabs. For example, if "Fixed Columns" is 1 and s_sampleid (keycolid1) is the first column, it will appear on all tabs. If you do not set a Group property for a column, that column uses the SDC Id (which is the default Group). This is consistent with "FormWithTabGroups" behavior. Additionally, the scroll grid is automatically activated if the "Fixed Columns" property is applied, and will work across all tabs.

As provided in the OOB configuration, the maint Element for selected SDI Maintenance pages is configured to automatically render in view-only mode if the Status of the SDI indicates completion a life cycle. This is done for the following SDCs:

The formattedtext Column Mode lets you render a Formatted Text Editor in an SDI Maintenance page.

To print a Jasper Report containing text from the Formatted Text Editor:

Foreign key (FK) columns can be edited by adding (or selecting an existing) FK column, then selecting an appropriate "Mode" for the column. If "Mode" is left blank, the column is rendered as read-only (primarily for backward-compatibility).

The example below shows the maint Element in the Sample List page, which defines a FK reference to the Product SDC. In this example, we add a "Product Cost" column rendered in "input" Mode.

To see the FK column, associate the primary key (Product) with the Sample. After saving, the editable FK column is rendered. After entering a value for the FK column and saving, the primary and any related FK column data are also updated. The retrieval of the related FK fields (such as Product data) creates another RSet and stores it with the primary RSet. The FK RSet is pinged and released with the primary RSet. Clearing the primary key for the FK (Product) also clears and disables related FK fields. 

When editing multiple SDIs in a Maintenance Grid, related FK columns are connected. In the example below, both Samples are associated with the same Product. If you change the Product Cost in one Sample, all Samples associated with the same Product also change accordingly. Visually, the values are automatically updated as you type. 

This functionality is currently available (hardcoded) only for the Sample SDC.

Editable TrackItem (Trackable Items) columns can be configured in a manner similar to editable foreign key columns, ie., add the column and select the Mode. Trackitem columns are available if the SDC is Trackable. As with FK columns, the value of the TrackItem column is retrieved with the primary data, and an RSet is created for the TrackItem record.

Unlike FK columns, the Sample does not have to be associated with a TrackItem, and the field is always available to edit. After saving, a TrackItem record is created for the Sample if none exists. If the Sample already has a TrackItem record, it is updated.

If multiple TrackItems are found for a single Sample SDI, the Maintenance page prevents editing of the TrackItem columns for that SDI. Hovering over the read-only TrackItem columns opens a tooltip stating that the SDI has multiple TrackItems and cannot be deleted. An RSet is not obtained for those TrackItems.

This functionality is currently available (hardcoded) only for the Sample SDC.

Editable SDI Alias columns can be configured in a manner similar to editable foreign key columns, ie., add the column and select the Mode.

When selecting the column in the maint Element, existing Alias Types (defined by the AliasType Reference Type) are available in the column lookup. The format is sdialias.xxx, where xxx is the case-sensitive Alias Type. 

Because Alias Types are case-sensitive and can have spaces, the ColumnId for an Alias Type cannot itself have a column alias. For example, sdialias.Clinical "ClinicalColumn" would not be a valid ColumnId.

If no Alias Types are defined, you can manually enter sdialias.yyy (where yyy is the desired Alias Type) in the ColumnId field (i.e. an Alias Type is not required to be defined in the reftype).

As with editable TrackItem columns, SDIAlias columns are editable at any time and do not require an SDIAlias for the SDI to be defined. The SDIAlias record is created the first time you specify an AliasId for the Alias Type. If the SDI Alias record already exists, it is updated. This mechanism lets you maintain multiple SDIAliasId's for multiple Alias Types on a single Maintenance page.

"Dynamic Dropdowns" can be created to alter the contents of a dropdown (the "target column") based on the selection made in another dropdown (the "source column"). This functionality is currently available for the maint Element and sdclinkmaint Element.

To create a Dynamic Dropdown, the "Columns → Dropdown SQL" or "Columns → Dropdown Definition → Query Where" property for a target column is configured with the token '[columnid]', which is the column id of the source column. If both the "Dropdown SQL" and the "Dropdown Definition" are configured in this manner, the "Dropdown Definition" is used and "Dropdown SQL" is ignored. A target column can have one or more source columns, and a source column can have one or more dependent target columns.

In the following example, a custom Parameter List is created. The maint Element is configured with two columns in "dropdownlist" mode: an s_instrumenttype column (foreign key link to the LV_InstrumentType SDC) and an s_instrumentmodel column (foreign key link to the LV_InstrumentModel SDC). The goal is to choose an Instrument Type and have the Instrument Models change accordingly. This example uses the "Dropdown Definition → Query Where". Instrument Type is configured as the source column as shown below.

Instrument Model is configured to be the target column as shown below. The "Dropdown Definition → Query Where" is instrumenttypeid = '[s_instrumenttype]', thus referencing the source column.

Changing the Instrument Type then shows the Instrument Models of that type.

If the current value of the dependent target column exists in the updated dropdown, the value will be preserved. Otherwise, the dependent target dropdown list will be blank.

When configured in a Maintenance Grid, changing the source column on the same row updates the dropdown of all dependent target columns.

You can define editable "virtual columns" that are passed in with Action properties. A "virtual column" is a column that does not actually exist for the SDI, but can nevertheless be populated (by manual entry, JavaScript, or lookup) and passed to an Action as a property. Although the Action itself ignores the virtual columns, they can be passed on to SDC Rules.

To specify a virtual column, prefix the column name with an underscore (such as _mycolumn), and use it with a column mode other than the default. On save, the virtual column will be passed in with the Action and on to any SDC Rules.

In the example below, the Maintenance Form is configured to render a "Send Email" checkbox with a dropdown of recipients, and create custom properties that will be passed to the EditSDI Action when the Maintenance page is saved. This can be done by configuring two virtual columns as shown below.

This renders the controls shown below.

When the page is saved, the properties are passed into the EditSDI Action and any associated SDC Rules as shown below.

This also works for foreign-key related columns, i.e., you can use the virtual column to pass values through to the foreign-key "save" Actions and their SDC Rules. For example, you can use "productid._mycolumn" with the Sample SDC, and when the EditSDI Action is executed on the Product SDC by the "save", it will pass the value as _mycolumn to the EditSDI Action. 

You can create editable nested select columns, set the mode to any input type (including dropdownlist and lookup), and it will be rendered as an input. For backward-compatibility with previous LabVantage versions, the mode must not be empty or default. The Alias for the nested select uses an underscore prefix similar to Virtual Columns (such as _mycolumn). The underscore prefix flags the nested select as a Virtual Column that is passed to the executing Action and any SDC Rules.

For example, assume the maint Element for a Parameter List contains the following nested select for the Column Id:

(select max(pli.paramid) from paramlistitem pli where pli.paramlistid= paramlist.paramlistid and pli.paramlistversionid = paramlist.paramlistversionid and paramlist.variantid = pli.variantid) _maxParam

The _maxParam is evaluated as "D".

When the page is saved, _maxParam is passed into the EditSDI Action and any associated SDC Rules as shown below.