Skip to content

Control properties

Every control has the same panel. What changes between controls is which fields the panel shows: a date does not need a list of options, and a file does not need a default value.

The fields

Field What it does
ID The control's identifier in the page. It is generated and unique; the name and the variable are what you normally change
Name The identifier of the control inside the form. It must be unique, and conditions and scripts refer to the control by this name
Variable The case variable the value is stored in
Data type Read-only: the type of the variable the control is bound to
Label The text the user sees above or beside the control
Hint Help text shown with the control — for example when the user hovers it
Placeholder The grey text inside an empty field
Default value The value the control starts with when the form opens
Required The form will not submit while the field is empty
Display mode Whether the control is editable, read-only or disabled in the case
Protected value Hides the stored value instead of showing it
Tab index The order in which the Tab key moves through the controls
Aria label The name a screen reader announces, when the visible label is not enough
Options The list of choices, or the query that produces it
Database connection The connection used when the options come from a database
SQL The query that returns the options

Name and variable are not the same thing, and mixing them up is the most common mistake in a form: the name is internal to the form, the variable travels with the case.

Where the options come from

Choice controls take their options from one of two places:

Source Use it when
Database The values live in a table or arrive through a connection
Array variable A process variable already holds the list, and the form should not query anything

With a database source the control stores the connection and the SQL; with an array variable it reads the variable when the form opens.

Properties that accept a variable

Some properties take a variable instead of a fixed value, written with the usual prefixes: Default value, and for a date control its minimum, maximum and default date. Typing @@ opens the variable picker, so the value a control starts with can depend on the case.

Fields that only some controls have

Control Extra fields
File Allowed extensions (*.* accepts any) and maximum size with its unit
Grid The column list: name, type, bound variable and width
Suggest The source query, the field used to filter it, and the limit of results
Text, textarea, dropdown, checkgroup, radiogroup, suggest, hidden The database connection and SQL used to build the options
Date The format and the mask

The file size is checked against the server limit as well: a value above the upload limit of the PHP configuration is refused when you save the property, not when a user uploads.

Where the panel puts things

  • Labels use sentence case, for example Default value.
  • The panel opens at the right edge and floats over the canvas.
  • The × closes it; the vertical tab on the right edge opens it again.