Progress
AppBuilder
Developer’s Guide
SmartSelects
The SmartSelect is a predefined SmartDataField object that represents a self-populating set of choices. You would typically use a SmartSelect to choose a new value for a field from among a relatively small group of possibilities drawn from a related table.
The SmartSelect object is data-driven. Most widgets used in an application have their values embedded as data within the program itself, so that changing the values in any way typically requires recompilation. Since the SmartSelect obtains its values from the database being modified, instead, recompilation is rarely required.
Some examples of the kind of situation for which a SmartSelect would be appropriate:
- Assigning a different sales rep to an account. Typically a company has a small number of sales reps, each of whom calls on many accounts.
- Changing a customer’s credit limit, if the possible choices are few. For example: discredited; credit hold; credit not requested; $10,000; $50,000; $100,000; unlimited.
- Changing some demographic value in a personnel record. For example: single, partnered, married, separated, divorced, widowed, deceased, dependent.
- Setting the circulation status of a book in a library-management system. For example: on-order, reference, reserved, available, checked-out, bindery, lost.
- Picking a customer number for use in order-entry. Since customer numbers are important to the seller rather than the customer, customers rarely remember them.
You can configure each SmartSelect instance to represent its set of values using your choice of four different widgets: Combo Box (the default), Radio Set, Selection List, or a Browse that opens in its own popup window. Of those four, only the Browse is capable of handling a large or unpredictable number of values. You might find it helpful to experiment before deciding on a representation.
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