The Advanced Input section of the toolbox holds entry fields for the less common cases - looking a value up in other records, forcing a particular format, picking a person, drawing on an image, or scanning a document straight into the record.


Every field here shares the settings described in Common Field Settings, and its conditions work as described in Field Conditions. Only the settings belonging to each field type are listed below.


Linked Field

An auto-complete box that looks its value up in another record type as the user types. It is the field to use whenever a form asks for something that already exists elsewhere in the system - a customer, a vendor, a part number, a project - because it keeps the spelling consistent and can fill in the rest of the details at the same time.


Linked to - The record type to search.


Value Field - The field whose value is saved into this form's field.


Display Field - The field the user sees while choosing. It can differ from the Value Field, so the user picks a customer by name while the form saves the customer number.


Allow No Match - Whether the user may leave a value that matched nothing. Off, the entry must be one of the records found; on, anything can be typed. Leave it off wherever the value has to line up with existing data.


'Starts With' Search - Adds a wildcard to the end of what the user typed, so typing "smi" finds Smith and Smiley. This is the usual setting.


'Ends With' Search - Adds a wildcard to the start of what the user typed, so the search finds values ending with it. Do not use it on numeric values.


Skip Security - Normally the search only returns records the person filling in the form is allowed to see. Turning this on searches without that check, which is faster but shows values from records the user has no access to. Leave it off unless the linked list is reference data everyone is meant to see, and never turn it on to work around a security setting that is doing its job.


Link Limits - Restrictions on which records appear in the auto-complete, so a form that asks for a vendor can offer only the active ones.


Auto-Populate - Other fields on the form that are filled in from the record the user picks. This is what turns a single lookup into a filled-in address block, and it is the main reason to use a Linked Field rather than a plain Text field.


Allow Add Linked Value - Lets the user add a new value from the form when nothing matches, rather than having to go and create the record first.


Masked Text Entry

A text box that forces the entry into a set shape, for values such as account numbers, policy numbers and reference codes.


Mask Type - Text Mask for a fixed pattern of characters, or Numeric for a number formatted as it is typed.


Field Mask - The pattern the entry must follow, used with a Text Mask.


Decimal Places - How many decimal places a Numeric mask keeps.


REGEX Pattern - A regular expression the finished value must match, for shapes a mask cannot describe.


Where the value simply needs checking rather than shaping as it is typed, the Validation settings on an ordinary Text field may be the simpler choice.


Email Field

A text box pre-set for email addresses, which checks the entry looks like one.


Invalid Email Text - The message shown when it does not.


Phone Field

A text box pre-set for phone numbers.


Phone Format - USA, formatted as (000) 000-0000, or European, formatted as +00-0000-0000.


Invalid Phone Text - The message shown when the entry does not fit the chosen format.


Numeric Slider

A number chosen by dragging a bar rather than typing. It suits ratings, percentages and any value with an obvious range.


Minimum Value and Maximum Value - The two ends of the bar.


Step Value - How far the bar moves at a time. Set it to 1 for whole numbers, or to 5 or 10 for a coarser scale.


Color Picker

Shows a color swatch that opens a full color palette when it is clicked, letting the user choose any color.


Color List

Shows a fixed set of colors for the user to choose from, which is the better choice when only certain colors are meaningful - a status, a category, a product finish.


Color Options - The list of colors offered. Each entry has the color itself and an Amount, which is added into the form's totals when that colour is chosen, so a color that costs more can be priced. Colors can be dragged into order. A link to htmlcolorcodes.com sits below the list as a reference for color names and codes.


Sketch Pad

Shows an image the user can draw and annotate on. It is used for marking up a diagram, a floor plan or a body chart, and for anything where a picture is easier than a description.


Image URL - The image to draw on.


Show Annotations Bar - Whether the annotation toolbar is shown to the user.


Show Annotations Types - Whether the user may choose the kind of annotation, or is held to the default.


Show Annotation Settings - Whether the user may change the colour, width and opacity.


Default Annotation Settings - The Annotation Type, Annotation Color, Line Width, Opacity and Stamp Button a new annotation starts with. Set these and turn the other switches off to give everyone the same simple pen.


Delete All Annotations on Delete - Clears every annotation at once rather than one at a time.

To use what was drawn elsewhere on the form, {FieldName:img} returns the image as data that an Image field can show or an entry field can save into the record, which is how a sketch reaches a merge document.


User List

Presents a list of users to choose from. It only works on internal forms, because it needs the person filling in the form to be a user of the system.


Filter By Team and Filter By Team Value - Narrow the list to the members of a particular team, so a form assigns work only to the group that can do it.


Team List

Presents a list of teams to choose from. Like the User List, it is for internal forms only.


Rich Text Entry

A box in which the user can enter formatted text - headings, bold, lists and the rest - in the way a word processor works. Use it where the answer is a document in its own right, such as a description or a set of instructions, and a Text Area would be too plain. For text that the form shows but the user cannot change, use a Rich Text Label from the Display Fields section instead.


Scanner Field

Scans documents straight into a record from a scanner attached to the user's machine. It has no appearance of its own: drop it on the form, configure where the documents should go, and then start the scan from a Button, Toolbar or Multi-Action field.


To Record ID - The record the documents are scanned into. Leave it blank to use the record the form is open in.


Destination Category, Destination SubCategory and Destination Name - Where the scanned documents are filed within that record.