Business Object Forms

As we saw in the Data Entry and Editing section whenever data entry and editing occurs Aware IM displays a form that allows a user to enter or modify the values of the attributes of a business object. In this section we will look at this process in greater detail.

The form that Aware IM displays during data entry or editing may be defined as part of the business object’s configuration. When the configurator provides a definition of a business object Aware IM generates the default form. This default form is used for data entry/editing unless the configurator defines a different form. The default form contains input controls for each attribute defined in the business object. The type of the input control corresponds to the type of the attribute – for example, text and numbers are represented by a simple text box, input fields for document attributes are represented by a text box with the Browse button next to it (the button allows choosing the document); reference attributes are represented by a reference table. For a complete list of attribute types and their default representation on the business object form see Adding/Editing Attributes. The input controls on the default form are laid out in a top-down fashion – every subsequent input control is placed underneath the previous one. An example of the default form is shown on the picture below:

It is possible to change the default form and specify which attributes will be shown on the form and in which order, or specify different type of an input control for a particular attribute. It is also possible to provide a completely customized layout of the form.

One can also define more than one form for a business object. For example, one form may be used when a new instance of a business object is created and another one – when an existing instance is modified. This may be useful if some attributes are only relevant when the object is being modified and irrelevant when a new instance is being created or vice versa. Certain forms may be used on special occasions only – for example, when clients register themselves as new system users or when the form is displayed by a particular process only (the name of the form may be explicitly specified in the ENTER NEW, EDIT or VIEW actions). Certain forms may also be used only for certain categories of users – see Access Control).

Configuration of forms is described in detail in the Defining Forms section.