Setting FieldMaker Field Properties
- 12 Jul 2023
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Setting FieldMaker Field Properties
- Updated on 12 Jul 2023
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You are here: FIMS Other Features > FieldMaker > Setting Up New Fields with FieldMaker > Setting FieldMaker Field Properties
Setting FieldMaker Field Properties
Field properties vary depending on the Data Type and View As options you select when you create the field.
NOTE: This procedure does not cover every available field property. Refer to the FieldMaker Field Properties section below for more information.
NOTE: The Enabled, Row, and Column properties can only be edited from the Layout tab. You can also edit any of the other field properties from the Layout tab, with the exception of the Format property, which should always be set on the Field tab.
1. On the Field tab in FieldMaker, select the field you want to configure, and then click the Properties button. The Field Properties window opens.
Field Properties Window 
2. Click in the Format Value field and change the character length so that it can accommodate the longest value in the field (for example, x(20) increases the length to 20 characters).
3. Click in the Side-Label Value field and select either Yes or No to determine whether you want the field name to appear to the left side of the field (Yes) or above the field (No).
4. Click in the Initial Value Value field and enter the item from the Item List that you want to set as the default value for the field (for example, None).
5. (Optional) If you want to include a tooltip for the field (help text that will appear when the user holds the mouse over the field), click in the Tooltip value field and enter the desired tip text.
6. (Optional) If you want to include a brief help message that will appear in the message bar at the bottom of the window when the field is selected, click in the Help value field and enter the desired text.
7. Click in the Item List Value field and enter all of the values that you want to include in the drop-down list. Separate each item with a comma.
NOTE: You should begin the Item List with a null value (for example, None). This will be the default value if the user does not select another option.
8. Set any other properties as desired. Refer to FieldMaker Field Properties below for more information on each value.
9. When you are finished, close the Field Properties window by clicking the Close button in the upper right-hand corner of the window.
10 On the Field tab, click the Save button on the toolbar.
FieldMaker Field Properties
After you choose the View As option, click the Properties button. Available properties will vary depending on the View As option, and the possible property values can also depend on the Data Type.
Properties can also be edited on the Layout tab. In fact, the properties on the Layout configuration record ultimately determine the field characteristics when you commit FieldMaker changes.
NOTE: Three properties (Enabled, Row, and Column) are only editable on the Layout tab.
Property | View As Types | Description |
|---|---|---|
Format | All | NOTE: Do not change this value on the Layout tab. It should be set only on the Field tab. There are other formats than the default values (for example formats for social security numbers or alternate dates). Contact FIMS Support for more information. Character: Sets a maximum character limit on field entry (except Editor fields). The default value is 8 characters (x(8)). You should change this number to accommodate the longest code or category name in an Item List. Integer: Sets the maximum entry length and format. The default value is ->,>>>,>>9 (0 to 9,999,999 positive or negative). Decimal: Sets the maximum entry size and format. The default value is Date: Sets the date format. The default value is 99/99/9999. Logical: Defines the terms (values) for true and false. The default value is Yes / No but can be changed to any two values. |
Side-Label | All except Toggle-box | Determines the position of the field’s on-screen label. Yes = left side label. No = top label. The default value is Yes. NOTE: Toggle-boxes always have side labels. |
Initial Value | All | The initial (default) value for the field. NOTE: When an Item List is used (Combo-box or Selection-List), or for Logical fields, the value must be one of the items on the list. |
Tooltip | All | A pop-up message that appears when you hold the mouse pointer over the field. |
Help | All | A short help message that appears in the Message bar at the bottom of the screen when the field is selected. |
Height | All | The height of the on-screen field (in lines). You can usually leave this setting at the default value. If you need to change the height, it is easier to change it by clicking and dragging one of the field handles on the Layout tab. NOTE: For Selection-list fields, you may want the entire list to be visible. This is best accomplished by changing Inner Lines to equal the number of items on the list. The height will change accordingly. |
Width | All | The width of the on-screen field (in characters). The default value is 10. You should set this value equal to the Format length so the entire text in the field will be visible without scrolling. You can also change the field width by clicking and dragging one of the field handles on the Layout tab. |
Item List | Combo-box Radio-set Selection-list | A list of all possible values for the field (for example, codes or categories). Use a comma to separate each item in the list. NOTE: Blank values are not allowed, so if you want a null entry, begin the list with an appropriate word (for example, None). This should also be entered as the Initial Value. |
Sort | Combo-box Selection-list | Defines the sort order for the Item List. Yes, sorts the list alphabetically and No sorts the list in the order that items are entered. |
Inner Lines | Combo-box Selection-list | For Selection-lists, determines the number of lines that are visible on the screen without scrolling. If your list is not too long, and you have enabled Multiple Selection, you should set this value to match the number of Items in the Item List. For Combo-boxes, determines the maximum number of lines in the drop-down list. In either case, the user can scroll down to see Items if the list is longer than the Inner Lines setting. |
Horizontal Scrollbar | Editor Selection-list | Indicates whether the field will have horizontal scrollbars (yes or no). Horizontal scrollbars are helpful if you need to preserve screen real-estate horizontally. For Editor fields you can usually set this value to No, while setting the Vertical Scrollbar to Yes, and Word Wrap to Yes. Then if you make the field a reasonable Height and Width, entered text will be easy to read by scrolling down. |
Vertical Scrollbar | Editor Selection-list | Indicates whether the field will have vertical scrollbars (yes or no). These scrollbars are important for Editor fields if all of the characters cannot be displayed within the field Height and Width. They allow you to scroll down to see all of the text. |
Horizontal | Radio-set | Sets the orientation of radio buttons on the screen. Yes arranges radio buttons horizontally and No arranges them vertically. |
Button Labels | Radio-set | Defines on-screen labels for each radio button. There should be a label for each Item in the Item List. |
Maximum Characters | Editor | Sets the maximum character size of the Editor field. NOTE: If you leave this value blank, the maximum size is about 18,000 characters. |
Word Wrap | Editor | Indicates whether text will automatically wrap at the end of the field width (yes or no). You should set this value to Yes to make text easier to read. Only set the value to No if the field Width must be limited (in which case Horizontal Scrollbar should be set to Yes). NOTE: Word Wrap does not work properly if Horizontal Scrollbar is set to Yes. |
Read Only | Editor | Indicates whether the Editor field is read-only (yes or no). Set this value to Yes when you want to prevent changes to the field, while still enabling scrolling so it can be read. Making the field read-only is useful if there are two Plus Pages that display the same field, and you would like one of them to be read-only. For example, a comment field for unposted Gifts might be made read-only when displayed in Gift History. NOTE: To make other fields read-only, see Enabled. |
Multiple-Selection | Selection-list | Allows more than one value to be selected from the Selection-list at a time. |
Drag-Enabled | Selection-list | This value is only relevant when Multiple Selection is enabled. Setting this value to Yes allows the user to click to select a single item, Shift+click to select a range of contiguous Items, and Ctrl+click to select multiple, non-contiguous items. Setting this value to No allows the user to select one item at a time. |
Enabled | All | Indicates whether the field is read-only (yes or no). No makes the field read-only. NOTE: Disabling an Editor field also disables scrolling on the field. You should use the Read-Only property for Editor fields. |
Row | All | Determines the field’s vertical position on the screen. There are 10 rows on the tabbed page, but the screen will automatically present a scrollbar if that number is exceeded. NOTE: The easiest way to move a field is by clicking and dragging it to the desired location on the Layout tab. |
Column | All | Determines the field’s horizontal position on the screen. The number indicates the beginning column of the label (if the label is on the left). Depending on the field width, a figure of about 60 will place the field on the right side of the screen, but the screen will automatically present a horizontal scrollbar if the field extends beyond the right edge. NOTE: The easiest way to move a field is by clicking and dragging it to the desired location on the Layout tab. |
Character Large Object (CLOB) Data Type
A CLOB (Character Large Object) is a data type that is intended to store large amounts of text data which can include an XML formatted document to be retained in a database.
However, due to the inherent language limitations of CLOB’s, they are limited in FIMS to only text data.
CLOB fields can be added to FIMS using the FieldMaker utility and used in online application forms as large text fields for applicants to enter text information such as essays. This text information can then be imported into FIMS through the Internet Grant Application Manager (IGAM).
For FIMS 12.81, the following notes apply:
CLOB fields have a maximum size of 100 MB. This allows over 100 million characters.
CLOB fields can be exported in the user defined exports.
NOTE: Large CLOB fields can exceed single cell limitations in many applications, including Excel, so it could have import issues into other programs.
For earlier versions of FIMS, the following limitations apply:
Data in CLOB fields can be imported into FIMS but cannot be exported afterwards. This includes all user defined exports and reports.
If you expect to use the data for anything other than viewing/changing on screens within FIMS, you should request the applicant to attach a copy of the original file to the application as well so it can be imported into the grants folder as a separate document.
The maximum character limit for a CLOB field is 20,480 characters. This is to prevent errors with saving the data that can occur with values larger than this.
To use larger fields, you will need to create multiple fields that hold part of the data (for example, a pages 1 to 5 and a pages 6 to 10 field rather than one field that holds all ten pages).
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