A global field contains
information that appears in multiple locations on your form. For
example, an invoice contains an invoice number that must appear
in multiple places on the form. In the form design, you could set
the invoice number to be a global field and reuse it elsewhere as
needed.
Global fields are extremely useful when you have information
that you know will be repeated in multiple places. Not only does
the use of global fields reduce the amount of data that needs to
be sent, they help ensure that exactly the same data appears in
the necessary areas of the form.
Using the Global binding property, you can apply the same value
to all objects in the form that have the same name.
When you apply the global setting to an object, all objects with
the same name will be bound to the same data at run time. Because
identically named global objects are linked to the same data value,
the data displayed in one global object is automatically displayed
in all other global objects having the same name. You cannot have
more than one identically named object in a form where some, but not
all, of the objects are set to global.
You can apply the global binding setting to the following types
of objects:
When you apply the global setting to an object, Designer automatically
applies the global value to all other objects in the form with the
same name. Conversely, if you remove the global setting from an
object, Designer removes the value from all other objects with the
same name and setting.
Note: When you apply global binding to an object,
you cannot add run-time properties such as the current page, number
of pages, and current date/time to that object.
Add the required objects to the form design.
Give each object the same name.
Select one of the like-named objects.
In the Object palette, click the Binding tab and select Use
Global Data from the Data Binding list. Designer displays a message
confirming that global binding will be applied to all objects that
have the same name as the selected object.
