IField Properties

The name of the field in the mapper's view/table. Typically this is the same as the Key. One use of alias is to map two fields to the same column in the view/table. Obviously in such a case care must be taken to ensure that there is no data loss due to a user setting both fields to different values. Typically one or both are locked.

Gets/sets certain field anomalies. This is primarily intended for internal use.

FieldAttrs flags specifying various behaviour of the field and apply to all fields. Additional CellType-specific attributes, per the CellTypes specified in the field's CellType property, are available via CellTypeAttributes. Both Attributes and CellTypeAttributes are normally loaded from meta-data during Load and can be set or altered programmatically.

The WebControl bound to this field. The field may also have a LabelControl associated with it.

The localized caption for the field. The Caption is typically used for field label text. For retrieving a caption for the field with additional options, use LabelText providing LabelFlags.

The type of control or use for the field. The CellTypes dictates much of the behaviour of the field in the UI. Note that CellType determines the enumeration represented by CellTypeAttributes.

CellType-specific attributes dictating the behaviour for the field in a manner specific to the field's CellType. In addition to these CellType-specific attributes, Attributes contains FieldAttrs that apply to all fields regardless of CellType.

Depending on the CellType this property's value will represent attributes from the following enums:

• Button - CellButtonAttrs
• CheckBox - CellCheckBoxAttrs
• Chooser - CellChooserAttrs
• ComboBox - CellComboBoxAttrs
• Currency - CellCurrencyAttrs
• DatePicker - CellDatePickerAttrs
• DateTimePicker - CellDateTimePickerAttrs
• Dynamic - No CellTypeAttributes are defined for this CellType.
• EmailAddr - CellEmailAddrAttrs
• FilePath - CellFilePathAttrs
• FileUploader - CellFileUploaderAttrs
• Find - CellFindAttrs
• GroupBox - CellGroupBoxAttrs
• Html - CellHtmlAttrs
• HtmlEditor - No CellTypeAttributes are defined for this CellType.
• Icon - CellIconAttrs
• Label - CellLabelAttrs
• Link - CellLinkAttrs
• ListBox - CellListBoxAttrs
• MapperSummary - CellMapperSummaryAttrs
• MultiSelect - CellMultiSelectAttrs
• Password - CellPasswordAttrs
• Picture - CellPictureAttrs
• RadioButtons - CellRadioButtonsAttrs
• RatingIcon - CellRatingIconAttrs
• SecureText - CellSecureTextAttrs
• ShadowColumn - No CellTypeAttributes are defined for this CellType.
• Signature - CellSignatureAttrs
• Sorter - No CellTypeAttributes are defined for this CellType.
• TabStrip - No CellTypeAttributes are defined for this CellType.
• TextBox - CellTextBoxAttrs
• TextWithWidget - CellTextWithWidgetAttrs
• TimeDuration - CellTimeDurationAttrs
• TimePicker - CellTimePickerAttrs
• Tree - CellTreeAttrs
• Unknown - No CellTypeAttributes are defined for this CellType.
• Url - CellUrlAttrs
• WebSite - CellWebSiteAttrs

The name of the field's underlying column in the database. Typically this is the same as the Key.

The width, in approximate characters, to use for the field in datasheets and other dynamically generated UI mappers. When zero the field is hidden.

The name of the control to which this field should bind. This is generally the same as the Key. In dynamically generated pages the ControlName is used as the ID of the dynamically generated control. In custom contols (ascx) used bound to a mapper, the ControlName may vary from the Key in order to match the ID of the control on the page.

The data IDatabase used by the field. The data database holds the field's operational data. Meta-data is stored in the Repository.

Internal use only. Sets the index of this field in the DataTable used for binding.

The .Net data type of the field. For example, a string would have a DataType of "System.String". Note that there is not a one-to-one mapping of .Net data types to DBMS data types. For example, SQL-Server char, nchar, varchar, nvarchar, text, and ntext all map to System.String.

The default Value for the field to use when moving to a new record.

• The DefaultValue may take the form of an embedded function such as !fnUserID() or !fnNow() to be evaluated when the default is set. See EmbeddedParser for more information on embedded functions.
• A field initialized from its DefaultValue will not be made Dirty unless DefaultMakesDirty is set.
• You can handle the RowSetDefaults event to set a field's DefaultValue programmatically just prior to its being applied to a new record.
• If DefaultFromParent is set, the mapper will attempt to default the field's value from the corresponding field in any parent IMapper.
• Set UseDefaultOnUpdate to use the field's DefaultValue to set the field's Value (if field is not Dirty) on every update. This is commonly used to maintain updated_dt and updated_by fields.

The localized description for the field.

Indicates whether the field's value has changed since loaded by its mapper. Normally the Dirty flag is set automatically when Value is set programmatically or due to user action in the UI. You can set Dirty programmatically if desired. The Dirty flag is used by the mapper when determining which fields to write during an UPDATE operation. To set a field value without making it dirty, use SetValue(Object, SetValFlags, Object).

ExcludeFlavor is used indicate that a field should be included from any mapper if a corresponding Flavor is set. Fields that are excluded are not hidden; they are never loaded into the mapper's Fields collection. A zero ExcludeFlavor indicates that the field should not be omitted from any mappers (unless specifically marked for limited inclusion using IncludeFlavor). If a field is marked as both included and excluded for a particular Flavor then the exclude bit is favored.

The primary key for the field record in the database. This is unique across all fields in all mappers. The Key is only unique within a single mapper. FieldID is a GUID.

Data type-specific format specification instructing the field on how to display its data and how to parse a value out of user entered text. Most standard .Net formatting is supported and formatting is locale-appropriate. Additional formatting specifications are provided to extend those provided by .Net. Examples Here

IncludeFlavor is used indicate that a field should only be included in a mapper if a corresponding Flavor is set. Fields that are note included are not hidden; they are never loaded into the mapper's Fields collection. A zero IncludeFlavor indicates that the field should be loaded into all mappers (unless specifically for exclusions using ExcludeFlavor). If a field is marked as both included and excluded for a particular Flavor then the exclude bit is favored.

The unique ID for this field in its mapper. Generally the Key corresponds to the column name in the mapper's view or table, to the column name in the underlying table, and the ID of bound controls. These correlations can be overridden by the field's AliasName, ColumnName, and ControlName properties respectively.

The Label control bound to this field based on AssociatedControlID. The field may also have a BaseControl.

Indicates whether the field should be locked. The property evaluates to true if the column is locked due to any of a number of reasons, including:

• The field's Locked attribute is set.
• The field is locked due to ObjectPermissions reasons.
• The field's table does not have a primary key identified or the field is marked ExcludeFromSelect.
• The field's mapper does not allow insert/update (as applies to the current record state), e.g. the mapper's DenyInsert and/or DenyUpdate is set.
• The field is an identity column.
• The field is RowLocked.
• Locked was set programmatically.

You can set Locked programmatically if desired.

Note that a locked field will be locked in the application UI, but may still be set programmatically (that is, it is not locked against programmers).

The live IMapper object owning this field.

The native data type name for the field's column in the database. For example, SQL-Server supports the following string data types: char, nchar, varchar, nvarchar, text, and ntext.

The original value as loaded by the mapper. The OldValue is set automatically from Value when Value is set to a new value.

The field's column's data type in the underlying database as mapped to OleDbType. The OleDbType is used to determine the way the column can be set, read, filtered and sorted. For example, the SQL-Server text and ntext data types are mapped to the corresponding LongVarChar and LongVarWChar, respectively and in SQL-Server have limited filtering capability and cannot be used to sort.

The live Picklist object associated with this field. Picklists are sophisticated vocabulary lists that are used to resolved underlying values to their display equivalents (e.g. 1=California, 2=New York, 3=Texas, etc.). Picklists values can be specified using SQL queries, meta-data specified lists, numeric ranges and other platform-provided mechanisms and even populated programmatically.

The ID of the Picklist associated with this field and available through the field's Picklist property.

The field's Properties collection. Properties can be specified in meta-data using the field's property sheet, or programmatically. Properties are used to specify many aspects of field appearance and behaviour. The Properties collection is loaded by Load.

The repository IDatabase used by the field. The repository holds the field's meta-data. Operational data is stored in the Database.

Specifies whether or not the field should be locked for the current row only. This property is cleared by the mapper immediately prior to the RowCurrent event. An extension can then set the property to true to lock this field for that row only. To perform row locking on the entire row set the RowLocked property. The field will be locked for all the static reasons (e.g. if the Locked attribute is set), or if the field is row-locked, or if the mapper is row-locked and the field's IgnoreRowLock behaviour is not set. Note that the IgnoreRowLock behaviour applies only to mapper-level row locking and has no impact on field-level row locking. For row-specific delete control, DeleteLocked.

The underlying table in which this field's data is stored. By default this is the owner mapper's View unless the field's Table property overrides that.

In addition, there are two "special" tables, "+" and "-". The "+" and "-" are used to signify a field that has no table (e.g. is ExcludeFromSelect), or for which it is desirable to disassociate the field from its table (e.g. to prevent a dirty value from being saved to the database). The "+" table causes the field to be editable in the UI, assuming the field is not otherwise locked. The "-" table causes the field to be Locked in the UI.

The field's localized TextItem collection. For a particular instance of a field only the locale (language) for the current user is loaded. The text is loaded by Load.

The localized tooltip for the field. Note the tooltip use is affected by the field's ToolTipOptions.

The current value of the field. Setting the Value will set the field's Dirty flag and cause the previous Value to be copied to the field's OldValue. The Value is the underlying value of the field as stored (or to be stored) in the database. In many cases this is the same as the DisplayText. However, in some cases (e.g. when a Picklist is specified) the Value may not be the DisplayText. Use the DisplayTextGet(DispTextFlags) and DisplayTextSet(String) methods to obtain and set the DisplayText. You can use the SetValue(Object, SetValFlags, Object) for lower-level control when setting the field Value.

Indicates whether the field should be visible. The property evaluates to true if the ColWidth is set to 0 or the field is hidden due to permission reasons. You can set Visible programmatically if desired.