Creating auto-generated custom controls

Expand the functionality of your application by adding no-code, auto-generated controls to your user interface. Auto-generated controls are custom controls that use standard controls as templates, and you can integrate them with your application with minimal effort.

For example, many languages use a comma instead of a period as a decimal point. You can adapt the existing Currency control to support this format and save it as a new, custom control. Alternatively, you can set up a control that you want to use repeatedly in your interface, and save time that you spend on manually configuring the control for every occurrence.

  1. In the navigation pane of Dev Studio, click Records.
  2. Expand the User Interface category, and then click Control.
  3. Open the record on which you want to base your custom control.
    For example: To create a Currency control that supports international formats, select pxCurrency.
  4. On the Control tab, review the default settings.
    For example: The Currency tab contains four sections: Basics, Options, Format, and Behaviors.

    The fields in each section depend on the characteristics of each control, and their configuration might be different for other components. The system populates the fields with working default settings, so that you only need to change the values that you want to customize for the new control.

  5. Customize the control settings:
    • To change general settings, such as the property that is attached to the control, modify the fields in the Basics section.
    • To change settings specific to the control type, such as tooltips, formats, or associated images, modify the fields in the Options section.
    • To change the values that the control displays, such as the text or date, modify the fields in the Format section.
    • To change the actions that the control triggers, in the Behaviors section, click Add, and then complete the Behavior form.
    For more information about adding actions to controls, see Adding actions to a control.
    For example: In the Format section, in the Type list, select Text. Your control now supports both decimal points and commas.
  6. On the HTML tab, add the control to an authoring menu:
    1. Select Show in authoring menus, and then select the menu in which you want to display the new control.
      For example: In the Category list, select Data Capture.
    2. To define what image the authoring menu displays next to the control, click the Show Image View icon, and then select the image from the Image Catalog.
  7. Click Save as.
  8. On the New tab, define the label, context, and ruleset for the new control, and then click Create and open.
    Result: Your new custom control appears in the authoring menu.