Combo box control

With a combo box control, a user can select one or more options from a list drop down menu. Place this control inside a section control.

General properties

Attribute name Description

Control ID

Each control in a presentation is assigned a unique Control ID that is read-only.

Default Label

This read-only value is the label associated with the database attribute bound to this control.

Label

You can specify a text value in this field to override the Default Label for the control. This label is specific to the application and is not stored in the MAXATTRIBUTE or APPFIELDDEFAULTS tables.

Attribute

You can associate this control with a database attribute. Not all attributes have a Default Label value.

Data Source ID

Specify a data source ID if you want this control to use a different data source than the parent. If the control is creating a data source and the Data Source ID property is not set, the ID defaults to the ID of the control. If the data source is blank, the control inherits the data source from the parent. If no parent controls have a data source specified or if the parent is the application, MAINRECORD is the data source because it is the primary data source for the application.

Display Attribute

Specify the attributes to show as options in the drop down menu for the combo box control. For example, if you create a combo box called Status, you can specify values such as Waiting for Approval and Approved. The values are bound to the data source and the attribute specified for the control.

Input Mode

Input mode options are:

  • Blank: An input mode with no value is read/write. Any information entered in this field is stored in the database column specified in the Attribute field.
  • Default: This mode is used for quick entry of default table data in tables.
  • Query: This mode is read-only and shows a typed value.
  • Readonly: This mode is read-only and shows grayed-out text.
  • Required: This mode is read/write and the record cannot be saved unless the user enters a value in the field.

Width

The standard width for a combo box control is 120 pixels. To make the control narrower or wider, enter a numeric value, for example 60 (narrower) or 200 (wider).

Advanced properties

Attribute name Description

Select Attribute

This value provides a synonym or abbreviation for the Display Attribute in the text box area of the combo box. For example, for the Status combo box, you can specify WAPPR and APPR as Select Attributes abbreviations for the Waiting for Approval and Approved display attributes.

Data Change Event

You can configure a control to perform one of the following actions in the event of a data change to the control:
  • The REFRESHTABLE event refreshes the data source table for the control.
  • The RESETCHILDREN event deletes any child objects of the data bean of the control which then reacquires its MBOSetRemote references.

More information

You can construct a URL for an Knowledge Center topic using the following format: com.ibm.mbs.doc,application/helpfile.html

If you construct a URL, a more information link is added to the field help (Alt + F1) for the control. When the user clicks the link, the target topic opens in the Knowledge Center.

The property is specific to the field ID in the presentation XML file. If you want to provide the same link in other controls or other applications, you must manually add the URL to each individual control.

Notify Portlets Reserved for future use.

Signature Option

You can specify a signature option that can restrict access to this control or change the properties of this control based on a condition that you specify. To create a signature option, click Add/Modify Signature Options in the Select Action menu. To specify a condition, click the Configure Conditional Properties button.

Sig Option Data Source ID

An MBO must be used to evaluate whether or not a user has access to a signature option. Specify the value of the data source that performs this evaluation if it is different to the data source that is configured for this control.