Edit or create an item, save the contents, and reset the controls in an Edit form control.

Description

These functions are often invoked from the OnSelect formula of a Button or Image control so that the user can save edits, abandon edits, or create a record. You can use controls and these functions together to create a complete solution.

These functions return no values.

SubmitForm

Use the SubmitForm function in the OnSelect property of a Button control to save any changes in a Form control to the data source.

Before submitting any changes, this function checks for validation issues with any field that's marked as required or that has one or more constraints on its value. This behavior matches that of the Validate function.

SubmitForm also checks the Valid property of the Form, which is an aggregation of all the Valid properties of the Card controls that the Form control contains. If a problem occurs, the data isn't submitted, and the Error and ErrorKind properties of the Form control are set accordingly.

If validation passes, SubmitForm submits the change to the data source.

  • If successful, the Form's OnSuccess behavior runs, and the Error and ErrorKind properties are cleared. If the form was in FormMode.New mode, it is returned to FormMode.Edit mode.
  • If unsuccessful, the Form's OnFailure behavior runs, and the Error and ErrorKind properties are set accordingly. The mode of the form is unchanged.

EditForm

The EditForm function changes the Form control's mode to FormMode.Edit. In this mode, the contents of the Form control's Item property are used to populate the form. If the SubmitForm function runs when the form is in this mode, a record is changed, not created. FormMode.Edit is the default for the Form control.

NewForm

The NewForm function changes the Form control's mode to FormMode.New. In this mode, the contents of the Form control's Item property are ignored, and the default values of the Form's DataSource property populate the form. If the SubmitForm function runs when the form is in this mode, a record is created, not changed.

ResetForm

The ResetForm function resets the contents of a form to their initial values, before the user made any changes. If the form is in FormMode.New mode, the form is reset to FormMode.Edit mode. The OnReset behavior of the form control also runs.

Syntax

SubmitForm( FormName )

  • FormName - Required. Form control to submit to the data source.

EditForm( FormName )

  • FormName - Required. Form control to switch to FormMode.Edit mode.

NewForm( FormName )

  • FormName - Required. Form control to switch to FormMode.New mode.

ResetForm( FormName )

  • FormName - Required. Form control to reset to initial values. Also switches the form from FormMode.New mode to FormMode.Edit mode.

Examples

See Understand data forms for complete examples.

  1. Add a Button control, set its Text property to show Save, and set its OnSelect property to this formula:

    SubmitForm( EditForm )

  2. Set the OnFailure property of a Form control to blank and its OnSuccess property to this formula:

    Back()

  3. Name a Label control ErrorText, and set its Text property to this formula:

    EditForm.Error

    When the user selects the Save button, any changes in the Form control are submitted to the underlying data source.

    • If the submission succeeds, any changes are saved or, if the Form control is in New mode, a record is created. ErrorText is blank and the previous screen reappears.
    • If the submission fails, ErrorText shows a user-friendly error message, and the current screen remains visible so that the user can correct the problem and try again.

  4. Add a Button control, set its Text property to show Cancel, and set its OnSelect property to this formula:

    ResetForm( EditForm ); Back()

    When the user selects the Cancel button, the values in the Form control are reset to what they were before the user started to edit it, the previous screen reappears, and the Form control is returned to Edit mode if it was in New mode.

  5. Add a Button control, set its Text property to show New, and set its OnSelect property to this formula:

    NewForm( EditForm ); Navigate( EditScreen, None )

    When the user selects the New button, the Form control switches to New mode, the default values for the Form control's data source populate that control, and the screen that contains the Form control appears. When the SubmitForm function runs, a record is created instead of updated.