Adding items to Guide panels

Add items to the panels in your Guide in the editor. To add an item to a panel, drag the item on to the editor. You can add items from the Data Model view or you can add Guide-only items in the editor.

Adding items from the Data Model view

The Data Model view is a structured representation of the model that the Guide is based on. The model can be an application model (FML) created in the Data Model perspective in Workbench, or it can be an XDP or PDF form created in Designer.

In the Data Model view, you can add any entity or property to a panel in your Guide. The Data Model view displays the entities and properties contained in the root entity that you selected when you created the Guide. You can also create additional items that you can add to a panel, such as data objects and selection lists.

Changes made in the Data Model view apply only to the current Guide, and are not saved in the original model. If you need to change the model, edit the model source file. For example, edit an FML file in the Data Model perspective, or edit an XDP file in Designer.

To create your Guide, drag items from the Data Model view into the editor or the Guide Tree view.

Note: If the Guide is based on an XDP or PDF form, do not add the ID property or a signature field to the Guide.

  1. In the Guide Tree view, select the panel to add an item to.

  2. In the Data Model view, click the item to add.

  3. Drag the item onto the panel in the editor or the Guide Tree view.

  4. Configure the properties in the Guide Properties view, as required.

Adding items in the editor

In the editor, you can add Guide-only items to a panel in your Guide. These items are not added to the Data Model view and cannot be reused in other Guides. You can add the following Guide-only items to a panel:

Text
You can add text to a panel. For example, you can add instructions for the panel or add a caption to a field.

Buttons
You can add a button to a panel. For example, use a button to add a display rule to your Guide or to bind an item in the Data Model view. In the Guide Properties view, buttons have the same properties as fields.

Nested panels
A nested panel is a panel within another panel.

Adding text or a button

  1. In the Guide Tree view, select the panel to add an item to.

  2. At the top of the editor, drag the Text or Button icon onto the panel. The Guide Properties view displays the properties for the text or button you added.

  3. In the Guide Properties view, specify properties, as required.

Adding nested panels

A nested panel is a panel within another panel. Using nested panels, you can display and interact with a panel that is defined as a separate panel inside another panel.

Use nested panels for the following reasons:

  • To define panels in a modular, reusable manner and then use them inside other panels. For example, use a nested panel to place a common information panel at the top of each panel.

  • To show and hide a group of items in a panel. Use a nested panel to contain a group of items, and then set the display rules for the nested panel to show or hide as necessary.

  • To use the layout capabilities of another panel layout inside another panel. For example, use a nested panel to use a grid or repeater layout inside a one column layout.

  • To use a variable column layout as the header, repeating content, and footer of a repeater layout. Without a nested panel, you are restricted to one column in the header and footer, and two columns inside the Repeater Tab or Repeater Accordion layouts.

  • To nest a repeating layout inside another repeating layout.

  • To display a nested panel based on the value of some property in the data model. Drag the model property onto the editor. In the Guide Properties view, select Control Type > Display As > Nested Panel. The nested panel displays the panel that corresponds to the value of the model property. For example, if the model property has the value Panel 1 , the nested panel displays the panel with the title Panel 1 . To use a nested panel this way, create a selection list that contains the names of a set of panels in a Guide. When a Guide filler selects a value from the list, the panel with the selected name appears under the list.

In the Guide Properties view, nested panels have the same properties as fields.

You can choose either of two ways to add a nested panel to your Guide:

  • Add nested panels from the toolbar in the editor and then select a panel to use as the nested panel.

  • Display a field as a nested panel. In the Guide Properties view, select Control Type > Display As > Nested Panel.

When you add a nested panel from the toolbar in the editor, two items are in the Guide Tree view for the nested panel:

  • At the panel level, an item displays the name that you specify for Panel Title in the Guide Properties view.

  • Under the panel that contains the nested panel, an item displays the name that you specify for Caption Text in the Guide Properties view for the nested panel.

A nested panel cannot display the panel that it is nested in. If a nested panel cannot display a panel, it displays the panel name instead of the panel.

In the Guide Properties view, you can set display rules for both the panel and the nested panel. To not have the panel appear in the Guide navigation panel, in the Display Rules, deselect Displayed. However, when you debug a Guide, it can be useful to display the original panel in the navigation panel and, it can be useful to see the original panel running independently in the navigator as well as running nested inside another panel.

The panels to be nested must have unique names because the Guide displays the first panel that matches the name.

Add a nested panel from the toolbar

  1. In the Guide Tree view, right-click and select New Panel. Use this panel as the nested panel.

  2. In the Guide Properties view for the panel, in the Panel Title box, type a unique name.

  3. To not have the nested panel listed in the navigation panel or displayed as a separate panel in the Guide, deselect Displayed.

  4. In the Guide Tree view, select the panel to nest the new panel in.

  5. At the top of the editor, drag the NestedPanel icon onto the current panel.

  6. In the Guide Properties view, from the Control Type > Nested Panel list, select the panel that you created.

  7. Configure other properties, as required.

Display a field as a nested panel

  1. In the Guide Tree view or the editor, select a field.

  2. In the Guide Properties view, select Control Type > Display As > Nested Panel.

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