A Modal Window is a container whose fields are not on the page. It stays out of the way until something opens it, then appears over the form as a pop-up, and closes again when the user is finished.


Use it for anything that would clutter the form if it were always visible: entering the details of a single item, confirming something before it is saved, showing a search so the user can pick a record, or adding an event from a calendar. Fields are dragged into it in the designer the same way as any other container.


Opening and closing it

A modal does nothing on its own. It is opened by a Button, a Toolbar, a Button Bar or a Multi-Action field using the Open/Close Modal Window action, and it is usually closed the same way once the work inside it is done.


It can also be driven by value: setting the modal field's value to open opens it, and setting it to close closes it. That is what lets a modal be opened from a workflow action or from anything else that can set a field.


Settings

Field Name - The name used to refer to the modal in conditions and actions. Every button that opens the window refers to it by this name, so choose it before wiring anything up.


Modal Title - The title shown across the top of the window.


Modal Icon - An icon shown beside the title.


Close with Escape Key - Whether pressing Escape closes the window. Turn it off where the user must use the buttons inside - a confirmation they should not be able to dismiss by accident.


Modal Size - Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large or Full Screen. Pick the smallest that fits what is inside; a large window holding two fields looks like something failed to load.


Close Button - The wording on the window's own close button.


Reacting to the window

Notify when Opened - Sets another field on the form to a New Value once the window has opened. Point a Multi-Action field at that field's change event and it runs every time the modal opens - to clear the fields inside, load a value, or start a search.


Notify when Closed - The same when the window closes. Use it to pick up what the user entered, add it to a table, or refresh part of the form behind the modal.


Together these are what turn a modal into a small form of its own: open it, let the user fill it in, and act on the result when it closes.

Loading

Pre-Load Contents - By default a modal loads its contents when the form loads, so opening it is instant and its fields can be read and set beforehand. The catch is that the contents are loaded once and stay as they are, which is wrong when the window should start fresh every time - most obviously when it contains an embedded E-form or a search. Turn this off in those cases and the contents are loaded again on each open.