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Using Record Selection on Forms

Adding record selection to your data entry forms can provide users with much more control over which database records are printed with each print request for the document. There are two data entry controls that support record selection from lists of database records. They are the Record Picker control and the Dropdown Record Picker control.

Both controls display a grid of columns and rows that list the database record set defined in the Database Setup dialog, including any filtering specified on the Filter view. The display is the same as the Select Records dialog, accessed from the Print dialog.

Either of the record picker controls can be used on a form that includes a data entry control linked to a query prompt. In this case, the record picker control is populated with a filtered record set, with the filter criteria specified at print-time by the user's response to the query prompt. For more information about combining record picker controls and query prompts on data entry forms, refer to Form Sequence.

The differences between the two controls include the following:

Adding either of the record picker controls to the form is as simple as adding any other control.

ClosedTo add a Record Picker or Dropdown Record Picker Control to the Form

  1. From the Create menu of the Data Entry Form view, click Data Entry Control and select either a Record Picker control or a Dropdown Record Picker control. Alternatively, click the icon on the object toolbar and select the control that you want.

  2. Click on the data entry form to place the control at the cursor location.

  3. Double-click on the control to open the Control Properties dialog. Alternatively, select Properties from the control's context menu.

  4. From the list of available property pages in the Navigation Pane, select the appropriate property page: 

    • If you created a Record Picker control, select Record Picker to open the Record Picker property page.

    • If you created a Dropdown Record Picker control, select Dropdown Record Picker to open the Dropdown Record Picker property page.

  5. Using the options available on the property page, customize the functionality you want the control to support at print-time.

  6. From the Navigation Pane of the Control Properties dialog, select Columns to open the Columns property page and customize the columns displayed in the control.

  7. Make any additional customizations to the control using the additional property pages in the Navigation Pane.

  8. Click Close to close the Control Properties dialog.

  9. Click on the main toolbar to preview your data entry form and select the record(s) you want to print from your record picker control. You are only allowed to select one record if you created a Dropdown Record Picker control.

  10. Click Preview to view the item(s) to be printed.

  11. Click Close to cancel the print preview, or Print to send the item(s) to the printer.

To preview your data entry form and subsequent print item(s), you must have at least one object on the template that is linked to a database field as its data source.

Customizing the Record Picker and Dropdown Record Picker Controls

Both the Record Picker control and the Dropdown Record Picker control allow for many customizations to the print-time display of the control using the options on their respective property pages, Record Picker property page and Dropdown Record Picker property page. Using these property pages you can specify whether or not the control will support many of the same features available with the Select Records dialog, such as:

Options that have been disabled on the property page will also be disabled in the control's print-time context menu.

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