Add items to Guide panels

Add items to the panels in your Guide in the editor. To add an item to a panel, drag the item on to the editor. You can add items from the Data Model view or you can add Guide-specific items in the editor. The items that you add in the editor cannot be reused in other Guides and are not part of the data model. These items include text, buttons, and nested panels.

Adding items from the Data Model view

The Data Model view is a structured representation of the model that the Guide is based on. The model can be an data model (FML) created in the Data Model perspective in Workbench, or it can be an XDP or PDF form created in Designer.

In the Data Model view, you can add any entity or property to a panel in your Guide. The Data Model view displays the entities and properties contained in the root entity that you selected when you created the Guide.

You can also create additional items that you can add to a panel, such as data objects and list sources. Items added to the Data Model view, such as data objects and list sources, apply only to the current Guide, and are not saved in the original model. If you need to change the model, edit the model source file. For example, edit an FML file in the Data Model perspective, or edit an XDP file in Designer.

To create your Guide, drag items from the Data Model view into the editor or the Guide Tree view.

Note: If the Guide is based on an XDP or PDF form, do not add the ID property or a signature field to the Guide.

  1. In the Guide Tree view, select the panel to add an item to.

  2. In the Data Model view, click the item to add.

  3. Drag the item onto the panel in the editor or the Guide Tree view.

  4. Configure the properties in the Guide Properties view, as required.

Adding items in the editor

In the editor, you can add Guide-only items to a panel in your Guide. These items are not added to the Data Model view and cannot be reused in other Guides. You can add the following Guide-only items to a panel:

Text
You can add text to a panel. For example, you can add instructions for the panel or add a caption to a field.

Buttons
You can add a button to a panel. For example, use a button to add a display rule to your Guide or to bind an item in the Data Model view. In the Guide Properties view, buttons have the same properties as fields.

Nested panels
A nested panel is a panel within another panel.

Adding text or a button

  1. In the Guide Tree view, select the panel to add an item to.

  2. At the top of the editor, drag the Text or Button icon onto the panel. The Guide Properties view displays the properties for the text or button you added.

  3. In the Guide Properties view, specify properties, as required.

Adding nested panels

A nested panel is a panel within another panel. Using nested panels, you can display and interact with a panel that is defined as a separate panel inside another panel.

Use nested panels for the following reasons:

  • To define panels in a modular, reusable manner and then use them inside other panels. For example, use a nested panel to place a common information panel at the top of each panel.

  • To show and hide a group of items in a panel. Use a nested panel to contain a group of items, and then set the display rules for the nested panel to show or hide as necessary.

  • To use the layout capabilities of another panel layout inside another panel. For example, use a nested panel to use a grid or repeater layout inside a one column layout.

  • To use a variable column layout as the header, repeating content, and footer of a repeater layout. Without a nested panel, you are restricted to one column in the header and footer, and two columns inside the Repeater Tab or Repeater Accordion layouts.

  • To nest a repeating layout inside another repeating layout.

  • To display a nested panel based on the value of some property in the data model. Drag the model property onto the editor. In the Guide Properties view, select Control Type > Display As > Nested Panel. The nested panel displays the panel that corresponds to the value of the model property. For example, if the model property has the value Panel 1, the nested panel displays the panel with the title Panel 1. To use a nested panel this way, create a list source that contains the names of a set of panels in a Guide. When a Guide filler selects a value from the list, the panel with the selected name appears under the list.

In the Guide Properties view, nested panels have the same properties as fields.

You can choose either of two ways to add a nested panel to your Guide:

  • Add nested panels from the toolbar in the editor and then select a panel to use as the nested panel.

  • Display a field as a nested panel. In the Guide Properties view, select Control Type > Display As > Nested Panel.

When you add a nested panel from the toolbar in the editor, two items are in the Guide Tree view for the nested panel:

  • At the panel level, an item displays the name that you specify for Panel Title in the Guide Properties view.

  • Under the panel that contains the nested panel, an item displays the name that you specify for Caption Text in the Guide Properties view for the nested panel.

A nested panel cannot display the panel that it is nested in. If a nested panel cannot display a panel, it displays the panel name instead of the panel.

In the Guide Properties view, you can set display rules for both the panel and the nested panel. To not have the panel appear in the Guide navigation panel, in the Display Rules, deselect Displayed. However, when you debug a Guide, it can be useful to display the original panel in the navigation panel and, it can be useful to see the original panel running independently in the navigator as well as running nested inside another panel.

The panels to be nested must have unique names because the Guide displays the first panel that matches the name.

Add a nested panel

  1. In the Guide Tree view, select the panel that you want to add a nested panel to.

  2. In the editor, click the Nested Panel button and drag it onto the panel. The nested panel properties appear in the Guide Properties view.

  3. In the Guide Properties view, configure the properties as required.

Create a nested panel that appears when a Guide filler selects a radio button or check box

Use the Nested Panels layout to create a panel that appears when a Guide filler selects a radio button or check box.

The Nested Panels layout nests the selected panel under a radio button or a check box when the Guide filler selects a button or check box. The panel disappears when the button or check box is deselected. It displays a panel based on the display rules of the original panel and automatically hides the panels from the navigation panel.

  1. In the Guide Tree view, add a panel to the Guide.

  2. In the Guide Properties view for the panel, from the Layout options, select Nested Panels.

  3. In the model, define a set of Boolean values. Create the Boolean values either as explicit Boolean properties in the Data Model perspective, as rules, or as a list source.

  4. Drag the Boolean value onto the display rule of the panel that the Nested Panels layout displays.

  5. Drag the Boolean value onto the panel. The position of the Boolean value on the panel dictates the display position of the nested panel. It is displayed as a check box or radio button. When the Guide filler selects the check box or radio button, the panel appears under the radio button. When the check box or radio button is deselected, the panel is hidden.

  6. You can drag multiple check boxes or radio buttons onto the layout this way. Each check box or radio button controls a single panel.

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