Forms

This guide will introduce the fundamental concept of Forms

Overview

Forms are the fundamental unit of UI space in a Servoy application. Each form represents an area of screen on which interactions with UI Components, data and scripted logic takes place.

Placing Components

Layout Manager

Layout managers control how components are arranged and behave in forms. Each form uses one of the following layout managers and a solution may mix forms having any of these types.

• Simple Layout (CSS Position)

• Advanced Layout (Responsive)

• Abstract (No UI)

Data Binding

A Servoy Form is typically bound to a single database table and the form will always contain a single foundset which is bound to the same table. Much of the action in the user interface, such as a user editing data fields, directly affects the form's foundset. Conversely, actions taken on the foundset, such as programmatically editing data, is immediately reflected in the form.

Often, there can be several different forms which are bound to the same table. In most cases the forms will share the same foundset and thus provide a unified view. For example, imagine a form showing a list of customer records, where clicking on one of the records switches to another form showing a detailed view of only the selected record. The forms will automatically stay in sync and there is no need to coerce the forms to show the same record. Exceptions to this behavior include scenarios where forms are shown through different relations, or have been explicitly marked to use a separate foundset.

Properties

Each form has a set of properties that can be easily set and customized at design time using the form editor in Servoy developer, but also at runtime.

Events

The form's behavior can be handled using the specific events list, which can be found in each form's properties tab.

Nesting Forms

Servoy developer allows users to nest forms, meaning a form can contain one or more other forms. This practice is helpful when a form needs to be used in more than one place, in order to avoid time consuming, repetitive work and also when it comes to changes, they would be done in one place only and applied everywhere the form is used. Nesting forms is done by using form containers.

Scripting Forms

A developer can create or add form and form elements related business logic to the application using the form scope, by accessing the script editor.

Form Inheritance

A way of reusing objects is by form inheritance. Servoy allows you to extend forms by other forms, which is a mechanism of creating new Forms (Child Form) that extend existing Forms (Super or Parent Form). As forms contain UI as well as variables and methods, all of this can be inherited and thus reused.

Form Security

Servoy allows users to quickly set up user groups and enable multilevel security access to solutions. Form level security settings can be specified at the group level for an entire form or for selected form elements via the Form Editor Security subtab.