Forms

Creating a form

Configuring a form

Deleting a form

Forms are task-oriented screen templates to meet the end-users' needs to handle data. They are HTML pages produced by the COGNITUM Engine to perform given actions on the data. For each type of action performed on the data, a form is generated on the COGNITUM portal.

Standard .jsp forms are provided by default. These standard forms are stored in the portal of the application. Standard forms are defined with the documents and services they use. Customized forms can be created with the COGNITUM Development Studio.

Creating a form

Creating a form is necessary to display documents data processed by services.

In the COGNITUM Console, a click on the New Form toolbar button automatically inserts the new Form item in the tree.

Figure: New form creation

It is necessary to configure the new form, as documented below in “Configuring a form”.

To add a form

1. In the COGNITUM Console tree, click the Forms item and click the New Form toolbar button.
2. Check that the new form item is automatically added in the tree. Select it to display the form Definition tab where to configure it.

Copying a form

You can save time by doing the following: If you have an existing form that is similar to the new form you want to create, you can start by copying the existing form, and then modify it as needed.

1. In the COGNITUM Console navigation pane, right-click the form you want to copy. On the shortcut-menu click Copy.
2. Right-click the Form root node, and on the shortcut-menu click Paste. A dialog box is displayed prompting you to enter a new document name.
3. Click OK. A new form is created and its name appears listed in the forms table.
4. Click the new form and modify its properties as documented in the section: “Configuring a form”.

Configuring a form

A form is defined with the template it uses and with the documents it must display according to the data processing services. Configuring a form is necessary:

• once a form is added to the tree, or
• to update an existing form.

A click on a form in the tree gives access to the Definition tab.

Figure: Form definition properties

Name: This is the name of the form. When first created, the "aForm" name must be replaced. A click in the cell allows to enter a new name. Non-alphanumerical characters and blank spaces are prohibited.

Visible: When this box is checked, the selected form is listed in the left-hand frame of the portal. When the option is deselected, the form is hidden from the left-hand frame, but it is still accessible. The feature is useful for applications like the COGNITUM Plan Locator where a form can appear dynamically only from the displayed maps.

Standard: This option makes it possible to select a form type from the standard portal.

Custom: A click on this option box makes it possible to select a custom form, made with the COGNITUM Development Studio.

Rights: When a form item is selected in the Forms tree, rights to access the form can be configured in the Rights area. For every role defined for the application, a select in the facing check box gives the right to access the form. The rights are synchronized with the parameters entered below the Roles tree node, described in “Roles”.

A click on the Apply button validates the parameters.

Standard Form

In the Definition tab of a selected form, the Standard option can be selected and one of the pre-defined form can be chosen:

• Read displays data.
• Edit allows to enter data.
• Search displays search boxes.

Figure: Standard form definition

When the Standard option box is selected, the facing list allows to select a default portal form of the type the form belongs to.

The Key/Value table must be completed with the selected form definition parameters:

action: This parameter makes it possible to define the form navigation rules — for example a read form could carry an action parameter to display an edit form, and another action parameter to delete an entry through a call to a delete operation. A click on the cell button displays the Build a Form Action dialog box.

Figure: Build a Form Action box

The Build a Form Action dialog box is made the following sections:

• Label: It is the identifier that should be displayed in the button which launches the operation in the end-user interface. The label can be free text. Non-alphanumerical characters and blank spaces are prohibited. It can also be a dictionary key to select with a click on the Pick up a dictionary key button.
• Target Form: It is the form displayed in the next action—with its operations and document. A click in this list box gives access to all the forms available in the application.
• Documents: The Documents table define the documents used by the target form:
• Instance Name: The name of the document instance can be entered here.
• Init: A click in the cell list makes it possible to select an empty document or a document available in the current form to initialize the document instance. The Init cells also allows to select instances of documents previously initialized by entering binding expressions—for example #{currentUser}.
• Mode: The processing type of the target form on the document instance can be selected here.

• Operation: This optional table helps define an operation launched before the target form display, as already defined in the Services node in the COGNITUM Console.
• Parameter: The parameters of the selected operation—defined at the Services node level—are recalled here.
• Value: The parameters values of the selected operation—defined at the Services node level—are recalled here. The box lists the documents previously defined.

A click on OK compiles the action string for the Value cell of the action key.

For a search form, the first action is most often the operation to read the results of the search process. The other action cell required the parameters for the operation to perform on the results displayed by the search.

documentClass: The document used by the form must be selected here. A click on the cell list gives access to the documents defined in the application.

documentName: The name of the document instance can be entered here. This feature is useful when a number of forms use the same document in an application.

templateKind: This informative line recalls the standard form template used, whether read, edit, or search.

criteriaDocumentName: A search form requires a name for the document instance used for the search process.

resultsDocumentName: A search form requires a name for the document instance used for the result process.

searchMethod: For a search form, the actual search operation must be selected here.

Custom Form

A click on a form in the tree gives access to the Definition tab. A click on the Custom option box makes it possible to select a custom form—made with the COGNITUM Development Studio.

Figure: Custom form definition

A form can be configured with a number of documents and services in the COGNITUM Development Studio.

Custom: A click on the torch button helps select a custom .jsp form.

Opening the form from Console

1. Click Open Form button to open the WAF form of the corresponding .jsp in Studio. If it is present at standard location, it is displayed in Studio.
2. If WAF source is not present at standard location, it searches for FRM source of corresponding .jsp.
3. If FRM is present, then it gets displayed in Studio.
4. If FRM source is not present, a message dialog appears to select the file manually.
5. Clicking OK on the dialog opens the file browser, where the file(WAF/FRM) can be selected and subsequently opened in Studio.

To configure a form

1. In the COGNITUM Console tree, select a form.
2. In the facing Definition tab, fill in Name with a label for the form.
3. Uncheck the Visible box when you want to hide the access link to the form from

the interface menu.

1. Click Standard to select one of the form types from the standard portal. Or click Custom to choose a .jsp form.

2. When you have selected a Standard form, fill in the Key/Value table with the definition parameters corresponding to the selected form type:

3. To fill in the action parameter with the service operation on the data used by the form, click the cell button.

4. In the Build a Form Action dialog box, complete the first Label box with the text for the button which launches the operation.
5. In the Target Form box, click the list box to choose an operation as the next action.
6. Complete the Documents table with the parameters of the documents used by the target form.
7. In Instance Name, enter the name of the document instance.
8. In Init, click the list to choose the initialization document or enter a binding

expression.

• In Mode, select the form processing type. You can complete the Operation table with the parameters of an existing operation to launch before the target form display.
• Click OK to validate the action value.

• When another action cell is available for a search form, complete it with the parameters for the operation to perform on the results displayed by the search. You can define a number of actions for any type of form.

• Fill in documentClass with the document used by the form.

• In documentName, enter the name of the document instance.
• In criteriaDocumentName, enter the name of the document instance used for a search process..
• In resultsDocumentName, enter the name of the document instance used for a result display process.
• In searchMethod, choose the operation that stands for the actual search process.
• In the Rights area, select the roles authorized to access the form.
• Click Apply to save the parameters you have entered.

Deleting a form

COGNITUM makes it possible to delete a form easily and

safely. The Delete command is accessible from a form context menu.

The Delete Form message box pops up. Choosing Yes validates the deletion. COGNITUM automatically updates the forms list when the form is deleted.

To delete a form

1. In the COGNITUM Console tree or property view, click the form you want to delete.
2. Choose Delete from the context menu.
3. Validate the deletion in the warning box.