PeopleSoft Technical: Pages

Page Controls

There are three types of controls that are available to use on a page:

• Aesthetic controls
• Data entry controls
• Function and data processing controls

Aesthetic Controls

Aesthetic controls are the controls that allow you to make the page look the way you want, organize it the way you would like, and give messages out to the user of the page with text. Aesthetic controls are not associated with data in the database; they are only used on a one-time basis on a page to give the look and feel you would like. They do not relate back to a record nor do they change the property for reuse on other pages. Aesthetic controls are described in the
following sections.

• ChartChart frame is a placeholder on the page drawn as a box during design and during runtime using PeopleCode. The chart will be populated with the GetChart field type.
• FrameThis control draws a frame around a group of controls. A frame will also help you isolate controls, which will become clearer when you learn how the processing occurs on pages and components. When a frame with HTML is displayed on the Web, it will create an HTML table.
• Group Box
  A group box is a box that you draw around a group of items and give a text label to.
• Horizontal Rule
  A horizontal rule is a horizontal line that can be drawn on a page to separate items on a page; horizontal lines are not for functionality, but for creating a visual separation on the page.
• Image
  An image allows you to create a frame that can be associated with one of two types of images—a standard Image type field or an ImageReference. An ImageReference can change dynamically during runtime and while the page is displayed. You can use a dynamically changing image to convey information to the user during runtime.
• Static Image
  A static image is a frame that is associated with a non-changing image. A static image is just what the name implies and it does not change during runtime. It is not associated with a record field but an image definition.
• Static Text
  Static text can be used to give users instructions on the page. Static text can be any text that does not change on the page. If your text will change, it is best to store it in a message catalog or in HTML rather than in static text.

Data Entry Controls

The data entry controls allow you to choose the way that the data will be entered, manipulated, and/or controlled on the page.

• Check Box
  A check box is a toggle switch and represents in code an on or off, or Boolean function. It is for representing a yes/no, on/off, or 1/0 type of coding.
• Drop-Down List Box
  The drop-down list box is a data entry feature that allows for a single value to be chosen from a list of valid values. It is best to have three or more values to choose from; otherwise, it is over-coding to use a drop-down list box.
• Edit Box
  An edit box is used for data entry—any value can be placed in the edit box. Edit boxes are also used for data display; you can display values in fields, derive work records, and/or translate text fields and then make the edit box read-only. The data type for an edit box is text so you want to use an edit box to allow for data entry into a record that has a field that is a character, number, signed number, or date.
• Long Edit Box
  A long edit box is almost the same as an edit box; the difference is in size. If your field is a long value a scroll area is added to the edit box, allowing for scrolling through the text. The length is controlled by the contents rather than the size of the field. Common uses are for comments and descriptions. Long edit boxes are good for memo type entries and generally correspond to the “long character” type fields in the database.
• Radio Button
  Radio buttons are small round buttons representing a single value that has multiple options. You add radio buttons in groups to show the multiple options that a single value has. PeopleSoft recommends using radio buttons in cases with very few options; for more than a few options, they recommend the use of a drop-down list box. The reason is that drop-down lists will grow dynamically as more choices are introduced, whereas when adding radio buttons the page would need to be modified.
• Subpage
  A subpage can represent a single source for a page header and you can reuse it on multiple pages.
  

Function and Data Processing Controls

Function and data processing controls allow for creating separation of levels on your page.

• Grid
  A grid allows you to place an object that behaves like a spreadsheet on your page. It has headings and cells, and can have push buttons, links, tabs, and more to allow for any type of navigation. A grid is similar in appearance to a scroll area and can be used instead of a single-level scroll area. Grids allow for the display of one-to-many relationships.
• HTML Area
  The HTML area gives you as a web designer an HTML object to insert onto a PeopleSoft page. This will provide you with all of the functionality of HTML inside of your PeopleSoft page. All standard HTML code can be written and called to in this object. Take a look at these illustrations. One shows the design of the HTML area; in the second, you can see how to call HTML object in PeopleCode.
• Push Button/Hyperlink
  The push button is the basic element on any page design. You can have the push button fire off PeopleCode or go to a hyperlink. It is one of the simplest objects, but can contain some of the most complex code. Here is a basic push button defined in Application Designer.
• Scroll Area
  A scroll area is very similar to a grid. It allows for easy navigation through rows using push buttons. Where the two differ is that in a grid you are limited to the types of controls you can place in it, but in a scroll area there is no limit. You can even place a scroll in a grid. The links and buttons that are defined in the scroll area are defined in the navigation bar. Within the navigation bar you have other settings: Find for searching, and View All so all the rows can be seen at once. Scroll areas also allow for random placement of fields; they can be side by side or one on top of another.
• Scroll Bar
  Scroll bars contain buttons and links for navigation, but instead of forming an area of data, the scroll bar creates a customized navigation bar. The developer must customize all navigation items and place them on the bar. The bar itself will not appear during runtime; the items that are placed on it display.
• Primary Scroll Record
  The primary scroll record directly relates to the SQL table and/or view that is connected to the page via the scroll levels. Each page can have only one primary scroll record, and it cannot be repeated in more than one scroll area on the same level. The parent/child relationship between the primary or parent scroll record will determine the structure of the other scroll areas on the page. Level 1 is the child to the parent, or Level 0, record. The child record, or Level 1 record, encloses what is on level 0, and Level 2 encloses what is on Level 1, and so on. It is important to note that Level 0 can have multiple records. The relationships from the primary record to the children records allow for the drill-down effect on a page.
• Component BufferComponent buffer, is simply an area in memory that allows you to place data that is active in the component, or in simpler terms, the current record. There are two ways to refer to data that is in the component buffer: using a scroll path or using PeopleCode with RowSet. The fields that display data for the page controls and the rows of data associated with them are stored in the component buffer. One of the fields that contain data would be the primary scroll record. You can access the primary scroll record and direct movement through the available data with PeopleCode.
• Secondary Page
  A secondary page is a control that is invisible at runtime. It allows you to associate a
  secondary page with the primary or parent page. You then use a command push button or link to redirect the control to the secondary page as a pop-up page. The secondary page is used to gather data and/or display data that is not used as often as the main parent page. You use the DoModal PeopleCode function to display the secondary page.