About Field Display Formats

There are two types of FDFs in our portals: component-based and scalar.

Component-based FDFs include the grid and chart FDFs. The grid FDF is used to control how a collection of data is displayed. It references a layout, so it knows where to position data in the grid.

Scalar FDFs format and display a single piece of data; for example, Date is a scalar FDF used to control how dates are displayed on the portal, Text is used to control how text is displayed, and TextClick is used to control how clickable text is displayed. Scalar FDFs do not need a layout.

These are general guidelines about our FDFs:

• The FDFs can be used as needed when you modify and create portal pages. You can also create your own FDFs prior to page setup, so they are available for selection in the Page Editor.
• FDFs are managed using the Portal Manager, under Content Development.
• Custom FDFs can be reused. A clear naming strategy is important, so appropriate FDFs can be found when needed. This is described in Portal coding standards and guidelines.