netfrag.org . TWiki . TWikiForms

Form Templates

Topics allow for flexible free format data, sometimes you want to ensure strucutre to some of the topic information, this can be done with Forms e.g. saying what type of topic it is (e.g. Bug, Feature, FAQ entry etc) and then filling in fields using dropdowns, radio buttons etc.

Overview

If forms are enabled for a Web and a topic has a form you will see it as a table when viewing the page. When you edit you will see the various edit controls below the normal text area. There will be a button at the top of the form marked Change which allows you to change to a different form, or remove the form. If you edit a topic without a form, there will be a button Add Form, that let's you associate a form with the topic; note that changes you have made to the topic are not lost when you select this option.

You can search for topics with specific form data using the %SEARCH% variable - see TWikiVariables.

Goodby to TWikiCategoryTables

This is a more general replacement for the TWikiCategoryTable capability, in particular Forms are defined by special topics, where as categories were defineind using special templates.

Changes from the Category Table System

Main changes from TWikiCategoryTable: The templates for category view/edit have been dropped.and render to HTML on viewing

Form Templates Category Tables
defined by topics defined in a template file
multiple forms per web one category per web
data saved in Meta variables data saved as HTML
[Change] form and [Add Form] contol buttons UseCategory radio button

Migrating Existing Category Table Data

The new Form Template system should work with old Category Table data with no special conversion. Old data should be transparently upgraded to the new Meta format when a page imported from the old TWiki is edited and saved in the new system for the first time.

On upgrading, the administrator must produce a form template topic for each web that uses the old Category Tables. twikicatitems.tmpl defines the categories and is used in the conversion. The form template must be set as the first item in the WebPreferences variable =WEBFORM. If it's not present, view works, but edit results in an oops dialog result. If things aren't working correctly, there may be entries in data/warning.txt.

Form Template Elements

Defining a Form Template

Form templates are defined by topics, one topic per form template. A form template topic has descriptive text mixed with the form template definition in the form of a TWiki table.

Examples

Defining a Form in One Topic

Example: WebFormTemplate of the TWiki.Know web:

Name: Type: Size: Values: Tooltip message:
TopicClassification? select 1 NoDisclosure?, PublicSupported?, PublicFAQ? blah blah...
OperatingSystem? checkbox 3 OsHPUX?, OsLinux?, OsSolaris?, OsWin? blah blah...
OsVersion? text 16   blah blah...

Defining a Form in Multiple Topics

The form template can also be defined in an alternative way by using more then one topic:

Above Example:

Notes

Specification

Enabling Forms for a Web

By default topics can be edited in free form. A form can be added to a topic to give it more structure. Forms are enabled on a per web basis.

The WEBFORMS variable in WebPreferences is optional and defines a list of possible form templates e.g.

With this present an extra button is added to the edit view. If the topic doesn't have a form an Add Form button appears at the end of the topic. If a form is present a Change button appears in the top row of the form to the right of the form name. The buttons leads to a screen that enables no form to be selected of one of those specified by WEBFORMS.

A default form template (i.e. new topics get this default form) can be provided by creating the WebTopicEditTemplate topic in a Web and adding a form to it. Initial form values can be set here.

Addtionaly a new topic can be given a form using the formtemplate parameter in the URL. Initial values can then be provided in the URLs or as form values. Names being:

Creating New Topics with Forms

When you create a new topic in a web that has the WEBFORMS Preferences variable set, an [Add Form] button appears at the bottom of the page. If the WebTopicEditTemplate topic has a form added, the form will appear with values set; press [Change] to remove the template or to switch to a different one.

A form embedded in a topic also appears in a new topic. This is done by specifying the formtemplate parameter in the URL.

Setting Up Multiple Form Options

Form Template Data Storage

The Form Template topic name, fields and values are stored in the topic Meta Data. The order of field/value pairs in the Meta Data is the same as in the Template. The Form name is required for [Edit] and [Save]. -- JohnTalintyre - 16 Aug 2001

----- Revision r1.4 - 01 Sep 2001 - 05:55 - MikeMannix?