Objects

Adding Objects to your Edit Form will allow you to display and edit a record's data.

Each type of Object has a different purpose.

You can use Arrange Objects to rearrange Objects and their tabbing order on the Form.

There are 3 ways to add an Object to a Form.

1. When using the Form Builder.
2. By cloning an existing Object.
3. Or you can create a new Object the long way by:
   1. Clicking the Object Button on the Setup Tab of the Home Page.
   2. Clicking the Add Button at the top of its Browse Form.
   3. Filling out your new Objects' properties (see below).
   4. Clicking the Save Button at the top of its Edit Form.

The All Properties Tab contains the information required by any Objects (with a few exceptions).

The Custom Code Tab allows JavaScript events to be added to any Objects (with a few exceptions).

All other Tabs relate specifically to the Object of the same name.

Tab - All Properties

Form Tab

Select a Form's Tab to add this Object to.

Type

Choose one of the following.

• Calc - A number field that recalculates after each change made on the current Edit Form.
• Display - A Display Object is a read-only field that shows the first column of the first record retrieved by an SQL Select statement or a Procedure
• HTML - A read only area that can be used to display html.
• Image - A read only area that will display an image.
• Input - Generally used for entering text, it can also be used for other HTML5 Input types, along with some types exclusive to nuBuilder Forte.
• Lookup - A lookup allowing the selection of a value from another table.
• Run - Does 1 of 2 things.

1. Creates a Button to allow the user to run another Form, Report or Procedure.
2. Creates an iFrame on an Edit Form in which a Form, Report or Procedure is displayed.

• Select - Allows the selection of one or more values from a list.
• Subform - Can contain rows (Subform Forms) that relate to the Edit Form.
• Textarea - Allows for text with carriage returns.
• Word - A read only object that simply creates a phrase in Bold.

Label

Description of the Object.

In the case of a Button object, the title will be displayed on the Button.
For all other objects, the title (label) will be displayed to the left of the object.

ID

A valid HTML element ID that is unique to this Edit Form. An ID must not contain spaces. In order to have information on the screen saved to the database, you must use an ID that matches an actual column in the database table which is connected to the Form.

Whenever you need to create Objects that do not write to the table connected to the Form, you can choose any unique ID you want to use and there does not need to be a matching columnn in the database. This applies for example to Buttons, Display, HTML objects.

Top

Spacing of the Object from the top of the screen. Value in pixels.

Left

Spacing of the Object from the left side of the screen. Value in pixels.

Width

Specifies the horizontal size of the Object in pixels.

Height

Specifies the vertical size of the Object in pixels.

Cloneable

Yes or No.

If set to No on an invoice number Object, it would mean that the whole record is cloned but its invoice number is not.

Used by...

• Calc
• Input
• Lookup
• Select
• Textarea

Align

Left, Right or Center.

Used by...

• Calc
• Display
• Input
• Textarea
• Word

Validation

None, No Blanks, No Duplicates, No Duplicates/Blanks

Used by...

• Input
• Lookup
• Select
• Textarea

Access

Editable, Readonly or Hidden.

Tab - Run

This Object will either...

• Create a Button that will open a Form, Report or Procedure in a new Breadcrumb.
• Display a Form, Report or Procedure, inside an iFrame on the Edit Form.
• Target for Run Object added in nuBuilder v4.5 as of 2021-04-01
  • Open Form in a new Breadcrumb (Default) / current Breadcrumb / new browser tab / Popup
  • Screenshot

Run

Choose Form, Report or Procedure to run.

Filter

A string that will be used like the Search field to filter Browse records.

Hash Cookies can be used in this string.

Record ID

Entering a Record ID will make the record with the matching ID display in an Edit Form (skipping the Browse Form)

Hash Cookies can be used in this string.

Method

Choose Button or iFrame.

Button will create a button that will take you to the Form, Report or Procedure.

iFrame will mash an iFrame into the existing Edit Form that will display the Form, Report or Procedure.

Tab - Display

SQL

A valid SQL query that will display the first field of the first record from its result.

If you want any help building SQL, the SQL Button will direct you to nuBuilder's SQL Builder.

Hash Cookies can be used within the SQL statement.

eg.

  SELECT cus_name FROM customer WHERE customer_id = '#RECORD_ID#'

Tab - Select

Multiple

Choosing Yes will allow for more than 1 selection from a visible list. Choosing No will allow for only 1 selection from a dropdown list.

Select2

If the Select2 checkbox is ticked, the Select2 control will be used. Select2 gives you a customizable select box with support for searching etc.

SQL or List

The resulting list for this Object can be created 1 of 2 ways.

1. SQL - A valid SQL query that returns 2 columns - If you want any help building SQL, the SQL Button will direct you to nuBuilder's SQL Builder.
2. List - A JSON/Array if both the display and the bound value are identical         eg. ["value1", "value1", "value1"]
3. List - A list delimited by a |         eg. 0|No|1|Yes

The first item is the bound value (e.g. 1) that is stored in the database and the second one is the display value (e.g. Yes)

Tab - Lookup

A Lookup Object can find and display a record selected from another Browse Form.

Form

Select a previously created nuBuilder Form.

Code

Scroll through to choose the Field to display as the lookup able Code from the list of possible fields.

Description

Scroll through to choose the Field to display as the Description from the list of possible fields.

Width

The width of the Description field in pixels.

After Browse (Button)

Allows PHP to be run after a record is selected.

AB in the flowchart below.

JavaScript

Allows JavaScript to be run after a record is selected.

LUJS in the flowchart below.

Tab - Subform

A subform is scrolling instances of another Form.

With each having a Delete checkbox on it's right - that will delete that record if ticked when the main Edit Form is saved. (if Deleteable)

Invisibly linked by a Foreign Key to the main Edit Form.

This Form can appear in 2 different ways.

1. As an Edit Form - as normal.
2. In a Grid format - all Objects in a horizontal row.

Form

Select a previously created nuBuilder Form that will scroll inside this Subform.

Foreign Key

Scroll though to choose the Foreign Key from the list of possible fields.

A Foreign Key is a field that is used to link to another table's Primary Key.

If a Subform's Form has an Object with the same ID as the Subform's Foreign Key, Subform records cannot be saved.

Addable

Select Yes or No

If Yes, there will always be a blank Form at the end of the scrolling list. So that a new record can be added.

Deleteable

Select Yes or No

If Yes, each Form will have a Delete checkbox on it's right - that will delete that record if ticked, when the main Edit Form is saved.

Type

Select Grid or Form.

Inside a Subform, records are repeated either as a

• Form which displays the same as an Edit Form.

OR

• A Grid where each Object is placed in order side by side, making the height of each Form shorter.

Tab - Image

The Image Object is an easy way to display a specific image stored in nuBuilder Files.

Image

Choose from previously saved images.

Tab - Input

A nuBuilder Input allows for most HTML5 input types as well as 4 types just available in nuBulder Forte.

Each of these 4 Objects requires extra information and will display an extra Object when selected.

nuDate

nuDate is a nuBuilder Input field that will display a calendar as it receives focus and will format data entry or calendar selection, once edited.

It requires Format - A list of customisable Formats.

nuAutoNumber

nuAutoNumber is a read-only nuBuilder Input field that will be populated once the Edit Form it is on, is saved for the first time.

It will be populated with an incrementing number.

It requires Next Number - The number this Autonumber will start from.

nuNumber

nuNumber is a nuBuilder Input field that will format data entry once edited.

It requires Format - A list of customisable Formats.

Do not enter more than 20 characters.

nuScroll

nuScroll is a nuBuilder Input field that will allow the user to scroll through a list using keyboard up and down arrows but also allows for adding text, not in the list.

It requires a JavaScript Array.

file

This is an HTML Object used for selecting a file to upload.

This file is stored in a JSON string and can be used for embedding files inside a div on an Edit Form using nuEmbedObject().

Other HTML5 types

• Button
• Checkbox
• Color
• Datetime-Local
• Email
• Hidden
• Image
• Month
• Number
• Password
• Radio
• Range
• Reset
• Search
• Telephone
• Text
• Time
• URL
• Week

a nuBuilder File Object converts a selected file to a JSON string (this is not an efficient way to handle files over 300kB).

This string can easily be used with HTML5 objects like <EMBED>.

Tab - HTML

This Object can be used for displaying custom HTML or a Google Chart.

Google Chart must be used online and for offline usage in nubuilder see this forum post.

Other references are:

https://github.com/changkejun/google-chart-offline

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6124930/google-chart-api-is-it-possible-to-download-the-js-and-work-on-it-offline

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4cd7zbdvv2mlg8f/gstatic.zip?dl=0

Chart

Chart Type

• Pie Graph
• Line Graph
• Bar Graph
• Bar Graph - Stacked
• Bar Graph - Horizontal
• Bar Graph - Horizontal and Stacked

JavaScript Array

This could be a hardcoded array,

  [
     ['Month', 'Shane', 'Dave', 'Adam', 'Paul', 'Chris'],
     ['2021', 165, 238, 322, 498, 550],
     ['2020', 100, 200, 300, 400, 500],
     ['2019', 165, 938, 522, 998, 450],
     ['2018', 135, 1120, 599, 1268, 288]
  ];

or a JavaScript function that returns an array like ...

  nuSubformObject('items').chartData

(Also see nuSubformObject)

Title

Appears at the top of the Chart.

Vertical Label

Appears at the left of the Chart.

Horizontal Label

Appears at the bottom of the Chart.

HTML

HTML

This will display any HTML that can be put in a DIV.

It can also contain Hash Cookies and can be used to change the HTML before it is run.

Tab - Calc

A Calc Object is a numeric field that will be recalculated after any Object's onchange event.

Format

Choose from a list of customisable Formats

Formula

The Formula for this calculation is simply created by clicking a combination of Objects and Operators.

Objects is a list of available Input:Number, Input:nuNumber, nuCalc and Select Objects on the Edit Form.

Options containing a . refer to the Subform Name and the Input Name on that Subform. And will total up all values for that Object eg. invoice_item_sf.ite_total

Options not containing a . refer to an Object on the Edit Form eg.inv_total

Tab - Custom Code

If an Object has a JavaScript event, the Custom Code Tab will be in bold.

These events are standard HTML5 events such as onclick or onchange.

The exception to this is a Subform Object which has only 3 events.

• beforeinsertrow

(Setting nuCancel = true; in this event, will stop a row being added to the Subform Object)

  if(nuSubformObject('item_sf').rows.length > 9){
  
     if(nuSubformRow == 9){
        alert('Only 10 rows allowed');
     }
   
     nuCancel = true;
  
  }

• afterinsertrow
• clickdelete

JavaScript (Subform)

Event

A valid event name.

JavaScript

An Input Object (text field) containing JavaScript code.

To edit this, double click on the Textarea and you will open Ace Editor in a full screen.