Formula list input pane

The formula list designer takes structural data information and transforms it into a standard list. That is, a list of elements that have unique names, captions, and a number of attributes.

Valid data sources are XML, Lists of values, and the content of CSV files.

The Formula field and Type field are common to all formula lists. Other fields of the list designer depend on the type of data source selected.

XML

Valid XML sources are:

Table XML
Tuple XML

Table XML: Table XML contains <Table> with multiple <Row> nodes. Each row contains multiple <Property> nodes.; An element is created for every row in the XML.; The row names form the unique names of the elements.; Sources of Table XML include the Columns and ListResult properties of lists. For example, specify =globlalists.[list_name].Columns as the input formula to return the column names of a relational list.; SeeCreating variable width hyperblocks for an example of use.
Tuple XML: A typical source of Tuple XML is the INITSLICERS function.; See INITSLICERS.; The formula for this source might be =GlobalVariables.gv_variablename.text where the results returned by INITSLICERS have been written to a variable.; The row names in the XML are hierarchy unique names. An element is created for every hierarchy.

To create a formula list from an XML source you:

Specify XML as the type.
Specify a formula to connect to the source.
Specify the attribute to use as element captions.

An attribute is created for each property in the XML. If Automatic attributes mapping is selected, all attributes are available in the Object Properties dialog of the object in which the list is displayed. Or, you can turn off automatic mapping and map attributes manually.

For example, if your XML contains the properties AddressLine1, City, and PostalCode, attributes with those names are created automatically. If you want only the PostalCode attribute to be available, turn off automatic mapping and specify PostalCode in the Source field. In the Name field, specify a name for the attribute: for example Post Code, or Zip.

XML

CSV

If you have a variable which holds the content of a CSV file, you can create a formula list from that content.

To create a formula list from a CSV source you:

Specify CSV as the type.
Specify a formula to connect to the source.
Specify whether the first row of the CSV contains column names.

If the first row of the CSV contains column names, specify a column name in the Caption and Unique Name fields.

If the first row of the CSV does not contain column names, specify column indexes in the Caption and Unique Name fields. That is, index 1 represents column 1, index 2 represents column 2 etc. And, if you turn automatic attribute mapping off, use column indexes in the Source field when you map attributes.

List

You can use a list of values as the source of a formula list. It is important to note that 'List' does not refer to, for example, a server list or relational list. It refers instead to a list of values such as that returned by a GETPROPERTIES or a GETPROPERTYVALUES function. See these topics:

GETPROPERTIES
GETPROPERTYVALUES function.