Control form - Completing the Control tab

• Autocomplete – Add an Autocomplete control. Available when Control Mode is set to Editable/Read-Only.
• Checkbox – Add a Check Box control. Available when Control Mode is set to Editable/Read-Only.
• Dropdown – Add a Dropdown control. Available when Control Mode is set to Editable/Read-Only.
• Multi-select list – Add a Multi-Select list. Available when Control Mode is set to Editable/Read-Only.
• Radio buttons– Add a Radio Button control. Available when Control Mode is set to Editable/Read-Only.
• Text area – Add a Text area control, which can contain more than one line of text. Spell checking is enabled by default. Available when Control Mode is set to Editable/Read-Only.
• Text input – Add a Text Input control. Available when Control Mode is set to Editable/Read-Only.
• Button – Add a button (with a text label) that triggers an action when clicked. Available when Control Mode is set to Action. You can include an image next to the label. You can use the Skin rule to specify and create button styles.
• Text – Display values of property types that include text, number, boolean, and date/time. Available when Control Mode set to Read-Only.
• Hidden – Use this element when you want to include a property value that is submitted but is not visible to the user. Available when Control Mode is set to Read-Only.
• Image – Add an icon that triggers an action when clicked or hovered on. Available when Control Mode is set to Action. You can use standard icons or create custom ones. Available actions are the same as the Button control.
• LinkAdd a text link that triggers an action when clicked or hovered on. Available when Control Mode is set to Action. You can include an image next to the label. You can use the Skin rule to specify and create link styles. Available actions are the same as the Button control.
• Date timeAdd a Calendar control. Available when Control Mode is set to Editable/Read-Only.
• Attach content – Add an Attach Content control. Available actions are the same as the Button control.
• Rich text editor – Add a Rich Text Editor control. Available when Control Mode is set to Editable/Read-Only.
• Timeline – Add a Timeline control. Available when Control Mode is set to Action.

• Auto – Select if you want the layout to determine the width of the control area. Default.
• Custom – Select to specify a fixed value in the Width field.

Optional. Enter a value that determines the minimum and maximum number of characters that can be entered in the text field or text area. You can designate either value as unlimited by leaving it blank.

Determines whether a count of remaining characters displays at runtime. The counter decrements as the user types. Once the character limit is reached, additional characters are not accepted.

The text disappears when the user enters a value. If no value is entered, the placeholder text reappears when the field loses focus. You can style Placeholder Text in the Skin.

• Other – Select to display inside the field a hint or instructional text that helps users enter a correct value.
• Expected Format (Date Picker only) – Select to display the localized DateTime Format value selected in this control.

• Auto – Select if you want the layout to determine the width of the control area. Default.
• Custom – Select to specify fixed value in the Width field. You can override this setting in the layout.

Enter a positive integer that is a pixel count, a percentage of the cell area, or a number of columns (Text area only). In the pull-down list to the right of this field, select the unit of measure: px, %columns

• Auto – Select if you want the layout to determine the height of the control area. As a best practice, use this setting.
• Size to Content – Select if you want the height to expand with the content. This selection also provides collapse options.
• Custom – Select to specify a fixed height. You can override this setting in the layout.

Enter a positive integer that is a pixel count or number of rows. In the pull-down list to the right of this field, select the unit of measure. To ensure uniform text area heights within a layout, do not mix row and pixel settings.

Select to display a scrollbar to the right of the area if the content exceeds the number of rows or pixels.

Enter a positive integer that is a pixel count or number of rows. In the pull-down list to the right of this field, select the unit of measure.

Select one of the following:

• No – The text area is presented i at a size determined by the Width and Height settings. The user cannot expand or collapse the text area.
• Yes, Default Expanded – The text area is initially presented in expanded mode at a size determined by the Width and Height settings. The user clicks the Collapse icon to collapse the text area.
• Yes, Default Collapsed – The text area is initially presented in display-only mode, with only the Min Height value visible. The user clicks the Expand icon to expand the area.

Enables date and time selections in the Calendar control. Select one of the following:

• Auto – Based on the associated property type, the system enables the appropriate date or time selections in the control as follows:
  • DateTime — Enables date and time selections. For example, in Drop-down Lists mode, six lists are displayed — one for each date and time value.
  • Date — Enables date selection only. For example, in Calendar mode, the time selection function does not appear in the pop-up calendar.
  • Time ( TimeOfDay ) — Enables time selection only. For example, in Drop-down Lists mode, three lists are displayed — one for each time value.
• DateTime – Enables date and time selections.
• Date – Enables date selections only.
• Time – Enables time selections only.

As a best practice, use the non-auto options only with DateTime properties or dates stored as valid text strings. Using an option that is unsuitable for the property type may present an incorrect read value at run-time. For example, enabling the Date option for a TimeOfDay property will not display a result.

Determines the presentation of the control to the user. Select either:

• Text Input + Calendar – Default. Display a text field that contains a calendar icon. The user can click the icon to select the date and time values in a pop-up calendar. Alternatively, the user can enter a date as a text value by clicking inside the field.
• Dropdown Lists – Display an array of drop-down lists from which the user selects the day, month, year, hour, minute, and A.M./P.M. Locale settings determine the order of the drop-downs. Use this option if the interface is configured for accessibility.

Click Yes (default) to enable the user to enter a text value in the field. Click No to prevent text entry.

Click Yes to display a calendar icon with the drop-down lists in the field. This enables the user to use the lists or the pop-up calendar to pick dates and times. No is the default.

Enter a numeric value indicating the date range (in years) in the Year drop-down list. The list contains an equal number of years forward and backwards from the current year. If the value is an odd number, the odd date is counted as a future year. For instance, a value of 11 displays a range of 2007 to 2017.

Enter text describing the purpose of the control. The user can click this text to select or deselect the check box.

Select Left or Right to indicate where you want the caption text to appear in relation to the check box image.

Enter text or select a property or field value that contains brief text, which appears on the button or as a text link.

Configuring labels

As a best practice, start the text with a verb. Consider the collection of controls that appear at runtime collectively; provide each control with a clear and distinctive label. For example, Cancel order.

To allow users to execute an action using a shortcut key combination, include an ampersand character (&) immediately before a letter in the caption text. At runtime, users can press the ALT key and the letter key together to execute the activity. For example, enter &History as a caption text to allow users to access work item history with ALT + h. At runtime, the label appears with the shortcut key underscored, as in Visual Basic applications.

If you use shortcut keys in your application, be careful to choose distinct letters for each control; for example, you can't have ALT + c as the label for both the Contents button and Close button. (To include an ampersand in a label as text, follow the ampersand by a space character.)

Localization

Use SmartPrompt to select a field value rule if you plan to localize the text. Enter no more than 64 characters. A field value rule with pyButtonLabel as the second key part and this text as the final key part is needed for each locale. When practical, choose a caption already included in a language pack, to simplify later localization. See About the Localization wizard.

Select a property value or enter a constant that contains a sentence or phrase identifying to users the purpose and function of the control.

As a best practice, start the sentence with verb either in the imperative ("Enter price of item here") or as an infinitive ("To cancel the order, click here").

Localization

Use SmartPrompt to select a field value rule if you plan to localize the text. Enter no more than 64 characters. A field value rule with pyActionPrompt as the second key part and this text as the final key part is needed for each locale. When practical, choose a caption already included in a language pack, to simplify later localization. See About the Localization wizard.

Alternatively, select Other to reference a custom format created in the Skin rule. A blank field appears when you select this option. Enter the format name.

Select the Privilege Name key part of a privilege rule that controls the availability of this control at runtime. During rule resolution at runtime, the system uses the Applies To key part of the current rule as the first key part.

If there is a privilege and a when rule (see Disabled field), both rules must evaluate to true for the button to be available to the user.

Insert an icon next to the label by clicking the Show Image Viewer icon . This opens the Image Viewer. Select the binary file you wish to use.

If the button or link Format, for example, Standard, contains an image in the background, then that image overlays the image specified here. Button and link formats are defined in the Skin rule.

Select Left or Right to indicate where you want the image to appear in relation to the label.

Select Yes if you want to apply a when condition that tests whether the user can use the control. If selected, the following options appear:

• Disabled Condition – Select one of the following:
  • The When Name key part of a when condition rule. Click the Open icon to review or create the rule.
  • Expression based on the comparison of a pair of constants, properties, or both, combined by Boolean operators, such as .Color="Red". You can combine the expression with a when condition rule or another expression using the && and || operators.

  As a best practice, use the Condition Builder to edit this field. Click the Open condition builder icon to open the tool. See Using the Condition Builder to configure dynamic UI actions.

• Run On Client – Appears only if the Disabled Condition field contains an expression that can be evaluated on the client. Complex expressions and When rules are not eligible.

  Select to cause evaluation and execution of the condition each time the value of a property stated in the condition changes.

  If unselected, the expression is evaluated and the condition executed when the form is initially presented and whenever the form is refreshed.

If you specify a standard pxIcon variation such as pxIconPrint or pxIconReview, the system selects a standard icon for that rule. For example, if the control is pxIconAddItem, the Add Item icon is selected. See Section, and Flow Action forms — Adding an Icon Control for icon descriptions.

To use a custom icon, select Other.

As a best practice, use sprites rather than individual images for Icon controls.

• None The property is not formatted.
• Text Unedited text, which may contain spaces, tabs, line break characters, and other control characters.
• Number Numeric properties on output.
• Date/Time Renders DateTime and Text property types in date and time format. See Understanding the Date, Time of Day, and DateTime property types.

  Specify the format in the DateTime Format field.

• Date Renders DateTime and Text property types in date-only format (hours and minutes are not displayed). See Understanding the Date, Time of Day, and DateTime property types.

  Specify the format in the Date Format field.

• True/False Boolean values.

  Specify the format in the True Label and False Label fields.

For read-only, select Yes if you want to display to the user the characters as a string of bullets.

For Editable ( Text Input ), select Yes if you want the characters entered by the user to appear as a string of bullets. The input characters are initially added to the clipboard as unencrypted, clear text values. The system computes the hashed value only as the page is committed to the PegaRULES database. Thereafter, the hashed value appears in both the clipboard and the database row.

A non-negative integer to control the number of digits presented after the decimal place. The default is Auto, which displays a maximum of three decimal places (placeholder zeroes are not added). Select to remove all digits after the decimal point and round to the nearest integer. Select All to include all digits.

Select a label indicating the scaling you wish to apply to the number. The scales are K for thousands, M for millions, B for billions, and T for trillions. For instance, if you select Thousands, a value of 20,000 appears as "20 K." If Percentage, the value appears as a percentage sign (.8 appears as "80%").

Select a format (minus sign or parenthesis) for displaying negative numbers.

You can also specify a CSS class if you select one of the Style Ref options. By default, the class name is NegativeNumber.

Select an option for representing the number as

• Currency — Formats the number as a currency using the default locale.
• Constant — A text string or character (for example, "%") ASCII character that you enter.
• Reference — A property value.

Select to use a thousands' separator. Depending upon the default locale, a comma or period is used.

Select left, right, or center alignment.

Select a property or constant that you want to add either before or after the displayed property value. For example, when the user name appears, the system can automatically append the full mail extension to the name or prepend the user's title.

EEE, MMM d, yy h:mm a

it will display as:

Sat, May 1, '99 2:00 PM

Note that symbols are case-sensitive. Common symbols include:

• y - the year number
• M - the month in a year (text or number)
• d - the day number in a month
• E - the day name in a week
• Y - the year
• H - the hour in the day (0-23)
• h - the hour in AM/PM (1-12)
• m - the minute number in an hour
• s - the second number in a minute
• a - indicates AM or PM

Consult the online Java tutorial on SimpleDateFormat for a complete list of custom symbols.

Enter a numeric value for the first unit, which determines when the second unit is truncated in the display. When the first unit number reaches or exceeds this value, the second unit does not appear.

For instance, if you set the cutoff value to 5, here is how these dates and times will appear to the user:

1 hour, 45 minutes ago

2 hours, 45 minutes ago

3 hours, 45 minutes ago

4 hours, 45 minutes ago

5 hours

6 hours

etc.

Enter a value of 0 to always display a single unit.

Enter a text string to label either outcome. Used with a boolean type.

If the Localize? check box is selected on the section's HTML tab, a SmartPromptAppears in the Constant field in the Parameters dialog. Select a field value rule if you plan to localize the text. If this text is to be localized. enter no more than 64 characters. A field value rule with pyCaption as the second key part and this text as the final key part is needed for each locale.