Field Display Format Editor user interface

In the Field Display Format Editor, you can create, preview, and edit the FDF. Attribute options for the various FDF types are presented as fields, where you can choose from information in drop-down lists or select check boxes. IntelliSense help is available for most options. Validation of the options lets you know if you specify an incorrect value or if you leave a required option or attribute blank. You can also view layouts where appropriate, for example on IPFGrid or IPFDropdown formatters.

The FDF Editor includes these components: masthead, help and preview tabs, and attribute fields.

Masthead

The masthead displays the name of the FDF being edited and the editable originator. The masthead also provides buttons you can click to perform these tasks:

  • Create a new FDF.
  • Load an existing FDF. When you load an FDF, the Load dialog window indicates read-only FDFs with a gray font color. Also, the originator is indicated in brackets. FDFs can be loaded in edit or read-only mode.
  • Revert to the saved version of an FDF. When you revert to a saved FDF, you are prompted to confirm. Any changes since the FDF was last saved are discarded and the last saved version of the FDF is loaded. If you open the FDF in read-only mode, the Revert button is replaced with an Edit button. When you click Edit, the FDF is reopened in write mode.
  • Save an FDF. You can enter a new name for the FDF, or use the pre-filled FDF name, if the FDF already had a name.
  • Save with a new name. If you are editing an existing FDF, use this button to rename it.
  • Edit the FDF. If you open the FDF Editor in view-only mode, click this button to make the fields editable.

Help and Preview tabs

These tabs are hidden by default but can be extended:

  • The Help tab contains context-specific information about the field you clicked in.
  • The Preview tab contains a visual representation of the current FDF, based on the attribute option selections you have made so far. For example, if you are defining the IPFBarcode formatter, a sample barcode that matches your option selections is displayed in the Preview tab. You can specify a data value at the bottom of the tab and click Update Data to view the matching barcode.

    If the current FDF is in an invalid state, for example, a key attribute is missing, the preview is not displayed.

Common fields

These attribute options that are common to all field display formatters are listed at the top of the editor:

  • Category: This field initially lists all available FDF category types, such as Grid, Barcode, Button, Document, Map, and so on. For a list of all available categories, see Field display formats and formatters.
  • Formatter: If you selected a Category, the Formatter field is filtered to display only the formatters in that category. Otherwise, all formatters are listed.
  • Styles: This box lists all the style functions and user-defined styles that are applied to this FDF by default. You can click the right arrow (>) icon to display a popup for adding user-defined styles or functions.
  • Clickable: This field at the bottom of the page is displayed only for formatters that can be clickable. For example, buttons and bar codes can be clickable by the users.

Formatter-specific fields

The rest of the fields in the editor are dependent on the formatter you selected. If there are many attribute options to define for a formatter, the fields are grouped logically on tabs.