As you build forms, use standard controls to bring consistency and predictability to the look and feel of your application. Use the Records Explorer to see a complete list of the standard controls available to you.

Standard controls provide these additional benefits:

• Let you customize a control in a section or harness without having to make multiple copies and reconfigurations.
• Preserve custom settings when you upgrade your system.
• Ensure browser independence and compatibility.
• Eliminate hand-coding, which simplifies design and maintenance.
• Eliminate inline JavaScript, which reduces cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities and improves performance.

This section begins with procedures common across standard controls and then provides procedures that are specific to individual controls, by type.

• Defining the behavior of form elements

  Ensure that users see and complete only the fields that are relevant to the processing of a case by defining the rules that govern the behavior of form elements.

• Adding text to form elements

  Ensure that users fill in the forms in an application correctly by supplying brief instructions. Provide additional information for users through labels, helper text, and placeholders that appear on form elements.

• Specify actions for a control

  You can specify action sets—event-action pairings—to determine the behavior of a control. For example, you might specify that clicking a button triggers the refresh of a section. You can define multiple events and actions in an action set, and you can create multiple action sets for a single control.

• Copying, moving, or deleting a control

  You can use basic Windows operations to speed the development of your controls.

• Styling a control

  Customize an application to match the branding requirements of your business by changing the look of the user interface. You can modify an application at run time by styling individual controls, such as buttons or text fields.

• Button controls

  Use a Button control to enable users to take action on a form, such as submitting the form after filling it out.

• Date time (calendar) control

  To present a date, time, or both on a form, use the Date time control. You can modify the control features to improve user experience by making date and time selection simple and intuitive. For example, you can choose to display the calendar widget with spinners to make it easier to switch between months and years.

• Adding and configuring an Advanced data visualization control

  Use a Advanced data visualizationcontrol when you need a highly configurable visualization beyond the standard pie, bar, and line charts. With a Advanced data visualization control, you can appropriately represent any type of data. You can add Advanced data visualization controls to sections or anywhere else a standard control can be used, such as

• Icon

  Use the Image control to add an image that can also function as a button that users can click or tap to take an action in your application.

• Link controls

  Add a Link control to a form to enable users to open a new application view or to move the cursor to a new position on the current view.

• Multi-select list controls

  When constructing a user form, you can add a Multi-select list control to make it possible for the application's users to select more than one value for a single field. These lists save time and ensure accuracy by supplying a list of valid values for an input field.

• Rich text editor controls

  The Rich text editor control provides users with an interface for adding and editing text. By using standard word processing tools, such as fonts and formats, this control helps application users style their text, which improves presentation and usability.

• Timeline controls

  In constructing a user form, you can add a Timeline control so that application users can view events along a horizontal timeline. The timeline can have a start date and an optional end date that restrict the events that are displayed.