To make accessing object properties
and values easier, FormCalc includes shortcuts to reduce the effort
required to create references. This section describes the reference
syntax shortcuts for FormCalc.
Current field or object
Refers to the current field or object
Example
$ = "Tony Blue"
The
above example sets the value of the current field or object to
Tony Blue
.
Data model root of xfa.datasets.data
Represents the root of the data model
xfa.datasets.data
.
Example
$data.purchaseOrder.total
is
equivalent to
xfa.datasets.data.purchaseOrder.total
Form object event
Represents the current form object event.
Form model root
Represents the root of the form model
xfa.form
.
Example
$form.purchaseOrder.tax
is
equivalent to stating
xfa.form.purchaseOrder.tax
Host object
Represents the host object.
Layout model root
Represents the root of the layout model
xfa.layout
.
Example
$layout.ready
is
equivalent to stating
xfa.layout.ready
Collection of data record
Represents the current record of a collection of data,
such as from an XML file.
Example
$record.header.txtOrderedByCity
references
the
txtOrderedByCity
node within the header node
of the current XML data.
Template model root
Represents the root of the template model xfa.template.
Example
$template.purchaseOrder.item
is
equivalent to
xfa.template.purchaseOrder.item
Data model root of xfa.datasets
Represents the root of the data model
xfa.datasets
.
Example
!data
is
equivalent to
xfa.datasets.data
Select all form objects
Selects all form objects within a given container, such
as a subform, regardless of name, or selects all objects that have
a similar name.
You can
use the ‘*’ (asterisk) syntax with JavaScript if it used with the
resolveNode
method.
Example
For
example, the following expression selects all objects named
item
on
a form:
xfa.form.form1.item[*]
Search for objects that are part of a subcontainer
You can use two dots at any point in your reference syntax
to search for objects that are a part of any subcontainer of the
current container object, such as a subform.
You can
use the ‘..’ (double period) syntax with JavaScript if it used with
the
resolveNode
method.
Example
The
expression
Subform_Page..Subform2
means
locate the node
Subform_Page
(as
usual) and find a descendant of
Subform_Page
called
Subform2
.
Using
the example tree above,
Subform_Page..TextField2
is
equivalent to
Subform_Page.Subform1[0].Subform3.TextField2[0]
because
TextField2[0]
is
in the first
Subform1
node
that FormCalc encounters on its search. As a second example,
Subform_Page..Subform3[*]
returns
all four
TextField2
objects.
Denote an unnamed object or specify a property
The number sign (
#
) notation is used to
denote one of the following items in a reference syntax:
You can
use the ‘#’ (number sign) syntax with JavaScript if it used with
the
resolveNode
method.
Example
The
following reference syntax accesses an unnamed subform:
xfa.form.form1.#subform
The
following reference syntax accesses the
name
property
of a subform if the subform also contains a field named
name
:
xfa.form.form1.#subform.#name
Occurrence value of an object
The square bracket (
[ ]
) notation denotes
the occurrence value of an object.
In language-specific forms for Arabic, Hebrew, Thai, and Vietnamese,
the reference syntax is always on the right (even for right-to-left
languages).
Example
To
construct an occurrence value reference, place square brackets (
[ ]
)
after an object name, and enclose within the brackets one of the
following values:
-
[ n ]
, where
n
is
an absolute occurrence index number beginning at 0. An occurrence
number that is out of range does not return a value. For example,
xfa.form.form1.#subform.Quantity[3]
refers
to the fourth occurrence of the Quantity object.
-
[ +/- n ]
, where
n
indicates
an occurrence relative to the occurrence of the object making the
reference. Positive values yield higher occurrence numbers, and
negative values yield lower occurrence numbers. For example,
xfa.form.form1.#subform.Quantity[+2]
This
reference yields the occurrence of Quantity whose occurrence number
is two more than the occurrence number of the container making the
reference. For example, if this reference was attached to the Quantity[2]object
, the reference would be the same as
xfa.template.Quantity[4]
If
the computed index number is out of range, the reference returns
an error.
The most common use of this syntax is for locating
the previous or next occurrence of a particular object. For example,
every occurrence of the Quantity object (except the first) might
use Quantity[-1] to get the value of the previous Quantity object.
-
[*]
indicates multiple occurrences of an
object. The first named object is found, and objects of the same
name that are siblings to the first are returned. Note that using
this notation returns a collection of objects. For example,
xfa.form.form1.#subform.Quantity[*]
-
This expression refers to all objects with a name of
Quantity
that
are siblings to the first occurrence of
Quantity
found
by the reference.
Using
the tree for reference, these expressions return the following objects:
-
Subform_Page.Subform1[*]
returns
both
Subform1
objects.
-
Subform_Page.Subform1.Subform3.TextField2[*]
returns two
TextField2
objects.
Subform_Page.Subform1
resolves
to the first
Subform1
object
on the left, and
TextField2[*]
evaluates
relative to the
Subform3
object.
-
Subform_Page.Subform1[*].TextField1
returns
both of the
TextField1
instances.
Subform_Page.Subform1[*]
resolves
to both
Subform1
objects,
and
TextField1
evaluates
relative to the
Subform1
objects.
-
Subform_Page.Subform1[*].Subform3.TextField2[1]
returns the
second and fourth
TextField2
objects
from the left.
Subform_Page.Subform1[*]
resolves
to both
Subform1
objects, and
TextField2[1]
evaluates
relative to the
Subform3
objects.
-
Subform_Page.Subform1[*].Subform3[*]
returns
both instances of the
Subform3
object.
-
Subform_Page.*
returns both
Subform1
objects
and the
Subform2
object.
-
Subform_Page.Subform2.*
returns
the two instances of the
NumericField2
object.
-
You
can use the ‘
[ ]
’ (square bracket) syntax with JavaScript
if it used with the
resolveNode
method.
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