Hello, I am new to Aras and this board but it seems like it be a useful tool. Here is my first thing I am trying to accomplish:
I would like to use my own .Net(aspx) forms or my own html forms instead of using the built in Form tool (I dont really like it).
Does Aras store any html code anywhere for the Forms created in Aras? Maybe then I could just take that code and edit it myself .
The bottom line is I want to create Forms, but I don't want to use the built in Form creator to do it. But I still want to be able to use Aras to save and recall the data on whatever Forms I build.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
The short answer is that Innovator stores Form definitions in a set of at least 6 Innovator Itemtypes (which correspond to 6 tables in the database): Form, Body, Form Event, Frameset, Field and Field Event. You can discover this by looking at the itemtype definition for Form, including what is listed as Relationship Types and follow each of these Relationship Types.
If you use SQL Server Management Studio to run queries against these tables you can analyze a particular example, such as the Part Form. As a test I ran the following queries
select * from innovator.form where NAME='Part'
and then get the id field that is returned and use it in the next query
select * from innovator.body where source_id='the id from the first query'
select * from innovator.field where source_id='the id from the second query'
In particuler, look at the field, HTML_CODE, that is returned from this third query.
Good Luck
Terry Stickel, PDM Consultant
TStickel Consulting
Sanibel, Florida
Thanks for the quick reply Mr. Stickel. It doesnt look like that is going to get me what I really want. Especially since the column HTML_Code
happens to be NULL for every field I have in my forms. I suppose I could try to throw some html code in one of the fields, but I don't think that is going to get me where I want to go.
I was really kind of hoping that Aras would just store the html code for the forms in the database, which I could just then copy over with my own developed HTML forms.......
I guess I might have to try some other route.....
Looking at the results from the query against the Field table, only fields that are of Type=HTML will have the HTML_CODE property set. Other field types, such as Text or Dropdown, do not have HTML_CODE set. Innovator must use the contents of the Field table to dynamically build the HTML page that is returned to the client.
I guess you could define your Forms such that they have only one field on them, an single field of Type=HTML. Then set the HTML_CODE property to completely define everything you want to appear on the Form??? There is a bigproblem with this approach. If you do a right-click->View Source on a Form generated by Innovator you will see a lot of Javascript functions and code that Innovator dynamically includes on the HTML page. This Javascript controls the Client-side functionality of the Form and the interface with the Innovator server. So you would have to generate this Javascript code your-self.
So.....this doesn't sound particularly trivial either. So what would be your suggestion? I don't mind doing the forms in Aras , but is there any way to make the form creator interface less "clunky" ?
Meaning, the drag and drop functionality doesn't seem to work correctly for me, as some elements drag around on the form ok, but others simply refuse. For those, I have to go through and change the X,Y coordinates manually. Also, I still haven't found an easy way simply to create generic text labels or add check boxes to a group box.
Thanks for your assistance.
So, does everybody use the built in form generator to create their forms for data entry? If so...how?
I have what I believe to be a typical form that I would like to have in Aras...it has about 25 text boxes and about 25 check boxes.
However, I can not find any easy way to accomplish this in Aras. The form builder tool works fine for a couple text boxes, but I soon lose the drag and drop functionality, and fields simply start refusing to drag past a certain point? Also, if I want to make the form look halfway decent, how do I go about adding group boxes or labels even? Do I have to use the generic HTML controls and code it all?
Phil
What version of Innovator and Internet Explorer are you using? I am running Innovator 9.0.1 under IE 7 and I have not experienced the problems you are seeing. I have Forms with somewhat near the number of fields that you refer to.
As far as field labels, I assume that you have used the Field Label tab to set labels. Are you looking for something beyond what it provides? As far as group boxes, I typically do use a generic HTML control e.g. something like <img src="../images/icons/other/1x1.gif" width=160 height=50> to set a group box.
I am using IE 7 and Innovator 9.1. What typically happens is the fields are not able to be dragged up or down, I can drag them side to side, but they almost seem like they get blocked by imaginary fields above them....its frustrating.
I could use a generic html control for the group box, but I'm not sure how to code the fields I want in the group box to be tied to the database.
This behavior is actually very easily reproducible for me. All I have to do is create a new form, and then immediately add 10 check boxes.
After I add the 10 check boxes, I am not able to drag any of the check boxes above any of the other ones....meaning I can drag the check boxes down on the form, but not up......
I have this behavior both in IE 7 and Firefox with the IE plugin.......
I ran into the exact same behavior with the visual form creator! I have some forms that are 50+ fields long and not only did it take an eternity because I had to manually position each field vertically, but if I ever want to make changes it will be a nightmare! I understand how a visual tool like that would be good for new/inexperienced web developers, but you really have no control and it makes things so tedious...
I am facing all of these issues too. In addition - I find it unacceptable that I cannot move a number of controls together or that I cannot copy and paste a control. Even copying one form to the other is impossible.
If anyone has suggestions on the Form Creator usability - Please add them here or post in a different thread. All additions are greatly appreciated !!!
Sagi
This is regarding the grouping of several controls -
To continue what t.stickel had written - Please set the HTML field border to 1 or 2. I could not see the HTML field if I the field border was set to 0.
One more regarding grouping of fields - When I tried the above I found out that the HTML control that I used to group the fields, was actually positioned on top of the check boxes (or other fields) and did not allow selecting or entering text in these fields.
The solution was to add the following code {z-index:-1;} to the CSS text in the Field CSS bar of the HTML control. This had sent the control to the back of the page where it was no longer on top of the other fields.
Cheers,
Sagi.
p.s. - Please - If you have any other useful tricks like that - Share them with all of us.