Edit Field
Edit fields can be used to allow input from the end user. If the end-user input is intended to be stored in a page source node, then an association must be made in the design with this node (by dropping the node from the page source onto the control). In this case, ensure that the edit field is editable by setting the Enabled/Editable property to true. The value of the associated node is displayed in the edit field. When the end user modifies the edit field, the associated node is updated automatically.
Instead of associating a node with the edit field, the content of the edit field can be defined by an XPath expression in the Text property (see below). If the XPath expression locates an XML node, the effect is the same as associating a node by dropping it on to the control. The XPath expression can also be used to calculate an output and display it in the edit field. In this case the Enabled/Editable property will be set to false automatically, and cannot be edited. It then functions in the same way as a Label control.
•When the control is associated with a data source node (page source link), placing the mouse over the control (in Page Design View) displays the associated node in a popup. •All page source links in the page source tree are displayed in a bold font. Tree nodes that are not page source links are displayed in normal font. •Placing the mouse over the page source link in the design tree displays information about the associated control. •To remove a data-source node association (and therefore the data in the control), right-click the control (in Page Design View) and click Unassign Page Source Link <NodeName>. •To reset a style or property (in the Styles & Properties Pane), select the property and click Reset in the pane's toolbar. •The values of several properties can be set by using XPath expressions. This allows values to be dynamic: that is, generated via calculations, or from data source nodes, at runtime. To set an XPath expression, click Edit XPath in the toolbar of the Styles & Properties Pane. •To edit the XPath expression of a style or property (in the Styles & Properties Pane), select the style or property, and click Edit XPath in the pane's toolbar. •To copy a control to another location in the design, press Ctrl and drag-and-drop the control to the desired copy location. •To assign specific properties for a control, define one or more classes for the control (via the Browser CSS Class property), and then assign rules for the class/es in an external CSS file (that you specify in the Browser Settings dialog). •A control's CSS properties can be defined in the Styles & Properties Pane and/or in an external CSS file. Those defined in the Styles & Properties Pane have priority. |
Edit Field events
The OnTyping event is available. For a description of the actions that can be defined for edit field events, see the Actions section.
Edit Field properties
The control's properties are available in the Styles & Properties Pane, and are listed below in the order in which they appear.
The name is used to reference the control from elsewhere in the page or project. Double-click inside the value field to edit.
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The All Styles property becomes visible if the All Styles setting of the More Project Settings dialog has been set to true. (The default of this setting is false.)
The property enables you to set all of the component's styles via a single XPath map expression, such as the two map expressions below:
map{ "Bold Text" : $XML1/R/@bold = "1", "Italic Text" : true(), "Text" : "hello", "Text Color" : "red", "Background Color" : $XML1/R/@background, "Text Size" : $XML1/R/@textsize }
map{ "Style Sheet" : "Sheet-1" }
Note the following points:
•When you enter a value for the All Styles property—even if it is not a map—all the styling properties of the current component in the Styles & Properties Pane will no longer be visible . •This is an advanced feature, so you must ensure that your XPath map expression is correct, both syntax and values. •You can enter the key–value pairs of the map in any order. •The key names are the names of style properties (or styles). In the first map above, for example, Bold Text and Text Size are style names. The styles that are available for a particular component are listed under that component in the Styles & Properties Pane. •You can also specify a style sheet to use, as shown in the second map above.
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Defines the type of keyboard that is displayed on the client when the user starts to edit content. Select one of the following options from the dropdown list of the combo box, or enter an XPath expression to select/generate the value you want. The default is client-specific
•Text •Number •Password: The password is hidden. •Visible Password: The password is shown. •URI •Phone
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The Text property takes as its value one of the following:
•A fixed value text string to be displayed in the control •An XPath expression that retrieves data from a node in a page source and displays this data in the control
Double-click inside the value field to edit, or click the XPath toolbar button and enter an XPath expression to generate the required text. Alternatively, right-click the property and select the entry method you want from the context menu (fixed-value or XPath).
Note: In the Rich Text control, you can enter an XPath expression that is an HTML-encoded string. If styles for HTML elements have been defined in the active Rich Text style sheet, then the text value of this property will be displayed with the appropriate formatting. See the Rich Text section for more information.
Note: The $MTControlValue variable is not available for the generation of the value of the Text property. If used, then a validation error results.
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Sets multiline input/display on or off (true/false). The default is false. If the text of the control is longer than a single line, and the value is true, then the text will wrap to a new line; if the value is false, then the text will be truncated at the end of the first line.
Note •If this property is set to true, and if the Text Size Auto-Fit property is enabled, then the text will not wrap to multiple lines; line break characters in the text would, however, create new lines. •If this property is set to true on a label control, the Max Number of Lines property becomes available. •Check boxes with multilines can be vertically aligned via the Vertical Alignment property.
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Click the Additional Dialog button and enter a number format in the Format dialog that appears (screenshot below).  The formatting will be applied to the control's content if the content is numeric, and will be displayed in the solution, not in the design.
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Click the Additional Dialog button and enter a date, time, or date-time format in the Format dialog that appears (screenshot below).  The formatting will be applied to the control's content if the content has the correct lexical form of xs:date (for the Date control), xs:time (for the Time control), or xs:dateTime (for the Date, Time, and DateTime controls). Basic examples are:
•xs:date: 2014-12-31 •xs:time: 23:59:59 •xs:dateTime: 2014-12-31T23:59:59
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Select one of the supported languages from the dropdown list of the combo box (EN, DE, ES, FR, JA). The selected language will be used in the date/time formatting that is set in the Date/Time Format String property (see description above). If the names of months and weekdays are used in the format string, then these will be displayed in the language selected for this property. The default language is English.
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Control actions can be triggered as soon as typing starts, during typing (after a specified time interval), or after typing has been completed. For example, the page can be scrolled to bottom (a control action) when typing starts, or a node can be updated (another control action) after typing has been completed.
•The available values of this property are OnTyping, OnFinishEditing, or AfterTimeInterval. •The default value is OnFinishEditing for web clients and OnTyping for all other clients. •You can select the value you want or enter it via an XPath expression (by clicking the XPath toolbar icon). •If AfterTimeInterval is selected, then the Trigger Control Actions on Typing Interval [ms] property becomes available (see below). •Editing is considered to be finished when Return is pressed or when the end user taps outside the edit field.
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This property becomes available if the Trigger Control Actions property is set to a value of AfterTimeInterval (see above). It specifies the time interval in milliseconds from when typing starts to when the control action/s is/are triggered. The default interval is 500ms.
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Click the Additional Dialog button to display the control's Actions dialog. You can set actions to perform when a control event is triggered. The control's event/s are predefined and each is shown in its own tab in the right-hand pane of the Actions dialog. A library of actions is displayed in the left-hand pane. You can drag an action from the left-hand pane into an event's tab and then define the properties of the action. For each event, multiple actions can be set up. They will be executed in the order in which they occur, from top to bottom.
After defining a control's actions, you can access and edit them at any time by clicking the property's Additional Dialog button. Alternatively, you can access a control event by right-clicking the control and selecting the control's event in the context menu that appears.
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An XPath expression that should evaluate to true() or false(). If the expression evaluates to false()—and only if it evaluates to false()—then the control is not visible. If the expression evaluates to true() or returns some other value, then the control is visible. The default is true(). Double-click inside the value field, or click the XPath button, to enter or edit an XPath expression. The Visible property can be used to render an object visible or not depending upon whether an XPath expression evaluates to true(). As a result, the display of an object can be made to be dynamically dependent on the content or structure of data.
Note: For information about the visibility of spanned columns/rows, see Table Properties.
Note: The $MTControlValue variable is not available for the evaluation of the Visible property. If it is used, then a validation error results.
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The control is either enabled or disabled, according to whether the value of the property is true (enabled) or false (disabled). The value can be entered directly (by selecting it in the combo box or by double-clicking in the value field and entering the value you want). The value can also be an XPath expression that evaluates to boolean true or false. The default value is true. Typically the XPath expression of the Enabled/Editable property of a control would check the presence or value of a node. If the expression evaluates to true, the control will be enabled.
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Sets a condition to be met for the control to be valid. If the assertion is invalid, then the text of the Assertion Message property (see below) is displayed in the Assertion Message control. (If there are multiple Assertion Message controls, then all these controls will display the text of the Assertion Message property.) Click the property's XPath icon to enter an XPath expression that defines the assertion. For example: The XPath expression LastName != "" asserts that the node LastName must not be empty. If this node is empty, then the control's assertion message is displayed in the Assertion Message control of the page.
Note that other controls and the page can also have assertions. If there are multiple invalid assertions on a page, then the assertion message of the first invalid assertion is displayed. Control assertions are evaluated before page assertions, and control assertions are evaluated in the order in which they occur in the design.
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Sets the assertion message to be displayed if the control's assertion is not valid. Double-click inside the value field of the property to edit the assertion message, or click the XPath toolbar button and enter an XPath expression to generate the required text. The assertion message is displayed in the Assertion Message control. For example: If the XPath expression of a control's assertion is LastName != "", then it asserts that the node LastName must not be empty. If this node is empty, then the assertion message of the control is displayed in the Assertion Message control of the page.
Note that assertions can also be defined for other controls and the page. So it can happen that there are multiple invalid assertions on a page. If this happens, then the assertion message of the first invalid assertion (in the sequence in which assertions appear on the page) is displayed. Control assertions are evaluated before page assertions, and control assertions are evaluated in the order in which they occur in the design.
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Sets the color of the control's text when the control is enabled. You can do one of the following to select the color:
•Click the color palette to select a text color •Select a color from the dropdown list of the combo box •Double-click in the value field to enter a color code (for example, #FF0000), or click the XPath toolbar button and enter an XPath expression to generate the required text
Note: A control can be enabled/disabled according to context. For example, if in a form about personal details, the user enters an affirmative for the holding of life insurance, then the fields for details of the life insurance policy can be enabled; otherwise these fields can be disabled. To enable/disable a field, use the relevant control's Enabled/Editable property. To set a text color for when the control is disabled, use the Text Color (Disabled) property.
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Sets the color of the control's text when the control is disabled. You can do one of the following to select the color:
•Click the color palette to select a text color •Select a color from the dropdown list of the combo box •Double-click in the value field to enter a color code (for example, #FF0000), or click the XPath toolbar button and enter an XPath expression to generate the required text
Note: A control can be enabled/disabled according to context. For example, if in a form about personal details, the user enters an affirmative for the holding of life insurance, then the fields for details of the life insurance policy can be enabled; otherwise these fields can be disabled. To enable/disable a field, use the relevant control's Enabled/Editable property. To set a text color for when the control is enabled, use the Text Color property.
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Select a size from the dropdown list of the combo box. Allowed values are: smallest|small|medium|large|largest. Each platform/device has its own pixel-height for each size. So the default text size in pixels is the client-specific pixel-height that corresponds to the value medium.
You can generate other values by using the mt-font-height function. For example, to get a size that is 120% larger than the numeric size that corresponds to 'largest' on a device, use the following XPath expression for the TextSize value: mt-font-height('largest', 'px') * 1.2. The function generates the numeric (pixel) value that corresponds to the 'largest' size. This value is then multiplied by 1.2 to obtain the numeric value that is 120% of the value that corresponds to 'largest'.
For information about the relationships between pixels, dp (device-independent pixels), and sp (scale-independent pixels), see Sizes: Pixels, DPI, DP, SP.
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Select true or false from the dropdown list of the combo box to set the text in bold. You can also use an XPath expression. Default is false.
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Select true or false from the dropdown list of the combo box to set the text in italics. The value can also be generated dynamically via an XPath expression. Default is false.
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Select true or false from the dropdown list of the combo box to set underlining for the text. The value can also be generated dynamically via an XPath expression. Default is false.
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Sets the background color of the object when the object is enabled. You can do one of the following to select the color:
•Click the color palette to select a background color •Select a color from the dropdown list of the combo box. If the cell contains a control, you might want to select the option Control's background color. •Double-click in the value field to enter a color code (for example, #FF0000), or click the XPath toolbar button and enter an XPath expression to generate the required text. To take up the background color of the control, enter the XPath expression: "control".
Note: You can set the background color of the cell to be the same as the background color of the control in the cell, by either: (i) selecting Control's background color in the property's combo box, or (ii) entering the XPath expression "control" in the property's value field.
Note: A control can be enabled/disabled according to context. For example, if in a form about personal details, the user enters an affirmative for the holding of life insurance, then the fields for details of the life insurance policy can be enabled; otherwise these fields can be disabled. To enable/disable a field, use the relevant control's Enabled/Editable property. To set a background color for when the object is disabled, use the Background Color (Disabled) property.
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Sets the background color of the object when the object is disabled. You can do one of the following to select the color:
•Click the color palette to select a background color •Select a color from the dropdown list of the combo box •Double-click in the value field to enter a color code (for example, #FF0000), or click the XPath toolbar button and enter an XPath expression to generate the required text.
Note: A control can be enabled/disabled according to context. For example, if in a form about personal details, the user enters an affirmative for the holding of life insurance, then the fields for details of the life insurance policy can be enabled; otherwise these fields can be disabled. To enable/disable a field, use the relevant control's Enabled/Editable property. To set a background color for when the object is enabled, use the Background Color property.
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Sets the text that appears as a tooltip when the end user hovers over the control with the mouse or long presses the control. A tooltip provides useful information to the end user about the control. Double-click inside the value field to edit. If an action has been set for a long press of the control, then no tooltip will be shown on a long press.
Note: Tooltips are not available on all controls, and for some controls they are not available on all platforms. On iOS, tooltips are not available for Edit Field or Signature controls.
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Provides a textual hint to the end-user. For example, the hint could be about an action that the end-user has to carry out by using the control. Double-click inside the value field of the property to edit the textual hint, or click the XPath toolbar button and enter an XPath expression to generate the required text.
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Sets the text color of the hint for the control. This text color will be the color of the text that is defined for the Hint property (see above). You can do one of the following to select the color:
•Click the color palette to select a text color •Select a color from the dropdown list of the combo box •Double-click in the value field to enter a color code (for example, #FF0000), or click the XPath toolbar button and enter an XPath expression to generate the required text.
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This property applies in the case of some controls (such as images and vertical lines) to the control, in other cases (such as radio buttons and check boxes) to the text that accompanies the control. The property sets the horizontal alignment of the control or text to left, center, or right. Default is left for all controls except vertical lines, for which it is center. The property's value can also be specified via an XPath expression (which enables the value to be generated dynamically).
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Sets the vertical alignment to top, middle, or bottom. Default is middle. The value can also be specified via an XPath expression (which enables the value to be generated dynamically). For Check Box controls, the property sets the vertical alignment of the check box relative to its text if the text is multiline (see the Multiline property)
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Sets the width of the control. Select a value from the property's combo box. The following values are available:
•fill_parent: makes the control as wide as the parent, which could be, for example, a table cell or the page •wrap_content: makes the control only as wide as the control's content requires; when this value is selected, the property Max Control Width becomes available •wrap_content_longest_entry: is available for combo box controls and makes the combo box as wide as the longest content requires; when this property value is selected, the property Max Control Width becomes available •percent value: a percentage of the page width; select a value from the dropdown list, or enter a value directly •pixel, dp, or sp value: select a pixel, dp, or sp value from the dropdown list, or enter a value directly
In effect, fill_parent creates a maximum width, while wrap_content creates a minimum width. If the combo box is within a table cell, for example, fill_parent would let the combo box fill the cell whereas wrap_content might not fill the cell.
The default value is fill_parent for all controls except the following:
•Image and Chart: For these, the default is wrap_content. •Geolocation Map: The default is the smaller of the two values $MT_CanvasX and $MT_CanvasY. These two dynamic variables give, respectively, the width and height of the device's viewport. Since the default of both Control Height and Control Width are the same (in each case, the smaller of $MT_CanvasX and $MT_CanvasY), the default shape and size of the viewport in the control will always be a square with side equal to min($MT_CanvasX, $MT_CanvasY).
For information about the relationships between pixels, dp (device-independent pixels), and sp (scale-independent pixels), see Sizes: Pixels, DPI, DP, SP.
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This property is available only when the control's Control Width property has been set to wrap_content. The Max Control Width property sets the maximum width of the control. Select a value from the property's combo box. The following values are available:
•percent value: a percentage of the page width; select a value from the dropdown list, or enter a value directly •pixel, dp, or sp value: select a pixel, dp, or sp value from the dropdown list, or enter a value directly
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Sets the vertical alignment to top, middle, or bottom. Default is middle. The value can also be specified via an XPath expression (which enables the value to be generated dynamically). For Check Box controls, the property sets the vertical alignment of the check box relative to its text if the text is multiline (see the Multiline property)
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Sets the margin offsets of the control (or page) relative to the surrounding objects or to the borders of the containing object. Select a value in pixels, dp, or sp from the dropdown list of the combo box, or double-click in the value field to enter a length value. The specified offset will be created on all four sides of the control or page. If you wish to set a different margin for any of the four sides, expand the Margin property to display the individual margin properties (left, right, top and bottom), and set the different value. For example: If you set Margin to be 6px and Margin Bottom to be 12px, then the top, left and right margins will be 6px and the bottom margin will be 12px.
For information about the relationships between pixels, dp (device-independent pixels), and sp (scale-independent pixels), see Sizes: Pixels, DPI, DP, SP.
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Sets the control's padding, which is the space between the control's border and the control's content. If the control is a table and the padding is set on a table row or column, then the padding is added to the margin of any control that is contained in the row or column; this increases the inset of the contained control and does not modify the size of table cells.
Select a value in pixels, dp, or sp from the dropdown list of the combo box, or double-click in the value field to enter a length value. The padding will be set on all four sides of the control. If you wish to set a different padding for any of the four sides, expand the Padding property to display the individual padding properties (left, right, top and bottom), and set the different value. For example: If you set Padding to be 6px and Padding Bottom to be 12px, then the top, left and right padding will be 6px and the bottom padding will be 12px.
For information about the relationships between pixels, dp (device-independent pixels), and sp (scale-independent pixels), see Sizes: Pixels, DPI, DP, SP.
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The Tab Order property takes an integer as its value, or an XPath expression that evaluates to an integer. This integer number is the position of the control in the tab order sequence.
The tab order is the sequence in which controls receive the focus when the client-device user taps the Tab key. The entire tab order sequence can be set quickly and in the visual context of all controls of the page via the Page | Show/Define Tab Order menu command. The Tab Order property of individual controls sets the sequential position of that control only.
Note: The Tab Order feature is available on Web and Windows clients only.
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Opens the control's Local Variables dialog, where you can add, edit, and delete the variables of the control. A control variable has a name, which is a string, and a value, which is an XPath expression. The variables that are declared in the Local Variables dialog will be evaluated when the control is called and will be used with this value till the control is called again. Parameters can be used in the XPath expressions that calculate the variable's value.
Control variables are useful for providing values that can be used in control actions. For example, a control variable can select a domain name based on the control's context. So, if a the current node is, say, a Department node inside a Company node, then the current company could have a domain name of, say, altova.com or nanonull.com. With the domain name set as a control variable, the control variable can then be used in an action of the control. For example, email addresses of a department's Employee children can be built by using each employee's FirstName and LastName elements together with the control variable that contains the company's domain name.
Control variables can also be set via a control's context menu.
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The Style Sheet property sets the style sheet to use for the control. The dropdown list of the Style Sheet property's combo box displays all the user-created style sheets that have been defined in the project. Select the style sheet you want to use for the control. Alternatively, you can use an XPath expression to select the style sheet you want; this has the advantage that you can make the selection of the style sheet conditional (see Applying User-Created Style Sheets). See the section Style Sheets for more information.
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The name of one or more CSS classes that you want to associate with this control. Use a space to assign multiple classes: LabelClassOne LabelClassTwo. These classes can then be used in a CSS file (specified in the Browser Settings dialog) to assign properties specifically for this control. You can also use an XPath expression to generate or fetch the names of the class(es).
You can use the following predefined value to set specific behavior:
•mt-combo-open-on-focus opens the dropdown list of a combo box when the user tabs to it. You can use this value on (i) combo box controls and (ii) on table controls if the table contains combo box controls. Alternatively, if you want to open all combo boxes on a page individually, then you can set this value on the Browser CSS Class page property.
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