FieldValue Pass-Through Attribute Properties

Iron Speed Designer Pass-Through Attributes

These attributes control specific types of controls generated by Iron Speed Designer.  Generally these attributes govern specific portions of code that is generated for your application depending on the selected attributes and their values.

Pass-Through Attribute

Description

<Tag Name>FvDsHyperLink:Visible

True

Display the calendar date selector control.

False

Do not display the calendar date selector control.

The calendar date selector control is enabled by default if this pass-through attribute is not present.

Example:

            OrderDateFvDsHyperLink:Visible

Applies To

Text Box (date input fields only)

CheckedValue

This pass-through attribute specifies the value saved into the database when a selected check box field is saved.  CheckedValue is generally set to ‘Yes’.  While CheckedValue can be set to anything, typical values are True, T, Yes, and 1.

Applies To

Check Box

See Also

TreatOtherValuesAsChecked
UncheckedValue

Consumers

page

 

 

Applies To

Image Button
Link Button
Push Button

CssClass

This pass-through attribute is generated by the Application Wizard and not set directly.  It is generally set to “field_input”.

Applies To

Text Box
Dropdown List
Listbox
Radio Button List
File Upload

DataFormat

Specifies the display format of the data displayed in the control.

Applies To

Text Box

EnableIncrementDecrementButtons

True

Increment and decrement buttons are generated for the Page Size textbox in the pagination control, Date fields, Currency fields, and other Numeric fields.  Increment and decrement buttons for Date fields will only be generated when the date is set to the default date format or “d”.  Increment and decrement buttons are not generated for any other date format.

False

Increment and decrement buttons are not generated.

Increment and decrement buttons are enabled by default if this pass-through attribute is not present.  You must explicitely set this attribute to False if you do not want increment and decement buttons for the designated field.

You can globally disable the generation of increment and decrement buttons in the Application Generation Options dialog (Tools, Application Generation Options…).  If disabled globally in the Application Generation Options dialog, no increment and decrement buttons will be generated anywhere in your application regardless of the EnableIncrementDecrementButtons pass-through attribute setting for any individual FieldValue tag.

Applies To

Dropdown List
List Box
Radio Button List

FieldMaxLength

Specifies the number of characters displayed on a web page for a text field, limiting the display of long ‘note’ fields in order to conserve screen real estate.

FieldMaxLength may be used in conjunction with the PopupDisplay pass-through attribute to display a limited amount of text on the web page and complete text in the pop-up.

FieldMaxLength also governs the number of characters displayed in PDF Reports generated by Iron Speed Designer (PDF Report).

Any positive integer may be specified; the lowest permitted value is 1.  Several special values are permitted:

Default

Represents the default value specified in the Application Generation Options dialog, typically 100 characters.

Max

Allows an unlimited amount of text to be displayed.

The default value is the “Default”.  If any invalid value is specified (e.g., 0 or negative number), then all characters in the field are displayed on the web page.

Applies To

Label
Literal

HTMLEncodeValue

Specifies how to display text contained in the field.

True

Display the text without rendering (executing) HTML tags.  Any embedded HTML tags are displayed as ‘HTML source’.

False

Display the text as rich text.  Embedded HTML tags are rendered.

Note that rich text is displayed only if the text can be fully displayed.  The amount of text in the field, including embedded HTML tags, must be less than the FieldMaxLength pass-through attribute value.

Default

Use the Application Generation Options setting.

 

Applies To

Label
Literal

HtmlEncodeWhiteSpace

True

HTML encodes white space.  Multiple words in a text string are not wrapped.

False

Does not HTML-encode white space.  This is the the default if this pass-through attribute is not set.

 

Applies To

Label
Literal

ImageHeight
ImageWidth

Specifyies the displayed image size in pixels.  When specified, images are not displayed at their normal size but are scaled according to the sizes specified by ImageWidth and ImageHeight.  Both ImageWidth and ImageHeight must be provided in order to specify the image size in pixels.  ImageWidth and ImageHeight are used in conjunction with the PopupDisplay pass-through attribute.

ImageWidth and ImageHeight may be used when ImagePercentSize is not specified.  Any positive integer value may be specified.  No default value is assumed for these pass-through attributes.

ImagePercentSize has higher priority over ImageWidth and ImageHeight.  If all three are specified then the image will be displayed according to the ImagePercentSize value.  If the ImagePercentSize pass-through attribute is missing, ImageWidth and ImageHeight values are used.

Applies To

Image

ImagePercentSize

Specifies the size of the thumbnail image displayed on a web page.  When specified, images are not displayed at their normal size but are scaled according to the percentage specified by ImagePercentSize.  ImagePercentSize is used in conjunction with the PopupDisplay pass-through attribute.

ImagePercentSize specifies a percentage of the image’s actual size.  Any positive number starting from 0.0 may be specified.  Values less than 1.0 are taken as an actual percentage.  For example, a value of 0.3 is interpreted as 30% and the image will be displayed with 30% of its original size.

The default value for ImagePercentSize is the “default” string which represents a default value, typically 20%.

Applies To

Image

LoadData

True

Forces the loading of the field’s data from the database, overriding any default value that may be provided in the page. 

If a database value is present, it is displayed.  However, if no database value is present, the default value (initial value), if any, is displayed.

False

Suppresses the loading of the field’s data from the database, allowing you to initialize a field to a particular value without regard to the value for that field in the database.

If a default value (initial value) is present, it is displayed, regardless of whether a value exists in the database.  However, if no default value (initial value) is present, the database value is displayed.

The LoadData pass-through attribute defaults to “True”, so setting it to “False” allows you to always initialize a field to a particular value.

Example #1:

To set an date updated audit field every time the page is edited, set the date field’s initial value to “DateTime.Now()” and set the LoadData pass-through attribute to ‘False’.

Example #1:

To initialize a field’s value if no value is present in the database, set the field’s initial value to the value you want, and set the LoadData pass-through attribute to ‘True’.  If the value exists in the database, it will be used.  If no value is present in the database, the initial value is used.

Applies To

Text Box
Dropdown List
List Box
Radio Button List
Button
Label
Literal

MaxGeneratedItems

Specifies the maximum number of values that will be automatically populated in list-style FieldValue controls, such as dropdown lists.  The default value used by Iron Speed Designer is 500 entries.  However, you can change this threshold to any value desired on a control-by-control basis with MaxGeneratedItems.

Note:  If the number of entries at run-time exceeds the value of the MinListItems pass-through attribute, a More link will be placed next to the field that, when clicked, displays the Large List Selector.  If the MinListItems is not specified, then MaxGeneratedItems is used as the Large List Selector threshold.

If you wish to disable the Large List Selector for a particular control, set MinListItems to a very large value.

Applies To

Dropdown List
List Box
Radio Button List

MinListItems

Specifies the minimum number of items required before the large list selector control is automatically displayed along side the FieldValue component.  MinListItems applies only when the FieldValue tag’s display style is Dropdown List.

MinListItems can be used in conjunction with MaxGeneratedItems to construct various scenarios.  For example, you can set MaxGeneratedItems to 500 and MinListItems to 100.  In this case, the dropdown list will contain upto 500 items but the large list selector’s “More” link will appear next to the control once the 100 item threshold is reached.

Applies To

Dropdown List
List Box
Radio Button List

NullValueText

Specifies the text to be displayed or inserted into the database if the underlying database field has a “null” value (no value).  This is typically set to ‘&nbsp;’

Applies To

Text Box
Label
Literal

PopupDisplay

Enables Ajax-based text and image pop-ups for the field.

True

Pop-ups are enabled for appropriate field types.

False

Pop-ups are disabled for appropriate field types.

Text pop-ups are displayed if the underlying database field type is a string or character field.  The PopupThreshold pass-through attribute specifies when text pop-ups will be displayed.

If the field’s Validation Type is Password, then no pop-up is displayed.

Image pop-ups are displayed only if the Display Style is ‘Image’.

If the underlying database field type is a string, no image scaling will occur on the underlying web page because the field is assumed to contain a URL and not the binary contents of an image.  However, the pop-up will be displayed.

Applies To

Image
Label
Literal

PopupThreshold

Controls when an Ajax-enabled text pop-up should be displayed.  The text pop-up will be displayed if the number of characters in the individual database record exceeds PopupThreshold.  PopupThreshold is used in conjunction with the PopupDisplay pass-through attribute.

The default value is the “default” string which represents the default value, typically 100 characters.  Any positive integer may be specified.  A text pop-up is always displayed if any invalid value is specified (e.g., characters or negative numbers).

Applies To

Label
Literal

PopupWindowPersist

Controls the persistence of a pop-up window.  PopupWindowPersist is used in conjunction with the PopupDisplay pass-through attribute.

True

The pop-up appears on mouse-over and stays as long as the mouse is not moved over any other part of the page which is a hot spot for the pop-up.

False

The pop-up appears on mouse-over and disappears on mouse-out.  If the application user wishes to make the pop-up persist, they can single click the mouse while the pop-up is open.

If PopupWindowPersist is not specified, then ‘False’ is assumed.

Applies To

Image
Label
Literal

PopupWindowScrollBar

Enables scroll bars in a pop-up.  PopupWindowScrollBar is used in conjunction with the PopupDisplay pass-through attribute.

True

Scroll bars are enabled.  Scroll bars are displayed only if the text or image content exceeds the size of the pop-up window.

False

Scroll bars are disabled.  If the text or image content exceeds the size of the pop-up window, no scroll bar will be displayed and the pop-up window will grow to accommodate the content.

If PopupWindowScrollBar is not present, the default value ‘True’ is assumed.

Applies To

Image
Label
Literal

PopupWindowTitle

Provides the title for the pop-up window.  PopupWindowTitle is used in conjunction with the PopupDisplay pass-through attribute.

The default value is:  %ISD_DEFAULT%

This represents the column name in the database.  Valid input can be any text.  If PopupWindowTitle is not present, then no title will be displayed.

Applies To

Image
Label
Literal

PopupWindowWidth
PopupWindowHeight

Specifies the pop-up window width and height.  Any positive integer value may be specified.  PopupWindowWidth and PopupWindowHeight are used in conjunction with the PopupDisplay pass-through attribute.

The default PopupWindowHeight value is 200 pixels.  The default PopupWindowWidth value is 300 pixels.  If PopupWindowWidth and PopupWindowHeight are not present, then their default values are used.

Applies To

Image
Label
Literal

RequiredRoles

Ay security roles configured for an individual field.  Individual roles are separated by a semi-colon (‘;’) and are wrapped in tags corresponding to the role management type.

Applies To

Text Box
Dropdown List
List Box
Radio Button List
Button
Label
Literal

RichTextEditorHeight

Specifies the height of the editor control window in pixels.

Default

Use the Application Generation Options setting.

 

Applies To

Text Box

RichTextEditorShowToolbar

Specifies whether editor’s menu toolbar should be shown or hidden when the record or table is opened for editing.

True

Display the toolbar.

False

Do not display the toolbar.

Default

Use the Application Generation Options setting.

 

Applies To

Text Box

RichTextEditorType

Specifies which text editor control to generate.

FCKEditor

 

ASP Multi-line

 

Default

Use the Application Generation Options setting.

 

Applies To

Text Box

RichTextEditorWidth

Specifies the width of the editor control window in pixels.

Default

Use the Application Generation Options setting.

 

Applies To

Text Box

SaveData

Forces or suppresses saving the field’s data to the database.

True

Saves the field’s data to the database even if no changes have been made to the field’s data.

False

Does not save the field’s data to the database.  Setting SaveData to “False” allows you to always save a particular value for the field, such as the logged in user ID or the current date and time.

The SaveData pass-through attribute defaults to “True” for some FieldValue display styles and to “False” for others.  Other FieldValue display styles, such as the Link Button, don’t allow SaveData to be set to True. 

Applies To

Text Box
Dropdown List
List Box
Radio Button List
Button
Label
Literal

TreatOtherValuesAsChecked

Check box fields can be displayed as either selected (checked) or unselected (unchecked).  The CheckedValue and UncheckedValue pass-through attributes designate the database values that signify whether the check box should be selected.  These are typically values such as ‘True’ and ‘False’ or ‘1’ and ‘0’.

In some cases, the underlying database field may have values other than those specified by the CheckedValue and UncheckedValue pass-through attributes, e.g., the values may be ‘True’, ‘False’, and ‘Not Sure’.  The TreatOtherValuesAsChecked pass-through attribute specifies whether a check box field is displayed as selected when these other values are encountered in the database.

True

Treats values other than those assigned via CheckedValue and UncheckedValue as checked (True).

False

Treates values other than those assigned via CheckedValue and UncheckedValue as unchecked (False).

If a hypothetical database column has a value of ‘Not Sure’, then the check box would be shown as checked if the TreatOtherValuesAsChecked pass-through attribute is set to ‘True’.  The check box would be shown as unchecked if the TreatOtherValuesAsChecked pass-through attribute is set to ‘False.’

Applies To

Check Box

See Also

CheckedValue
UncheckedValue

UncheckedValue

This pass-through attribute specifies the value saved into the database when an unselected check box field is saved.  UncheckedValue is generally set to ‘No’.  While UncheckedValue can be set to anything, typical values are False, F, No, and 0.

Applies To

Check Box

See Also

CheckedValue
TreatOtherValuesAsChecked

ASP.NET Control Properties

The ASP.NET controls have a wide variety of properties that can be used to govern the controls’ behaviors.  You can enter any .NET control property into the Attributes tab and Iron Speed Designer will insert them into the generated control tags.

ASP.NET Control Property

Description

<Tag Name>
RequiredFieldValidator:Display

Specifies whether the space for the validation text and error message is pre-reserved or allocated dynamically at run-time.

None

The validation message is never displayed inline.

Static

Space for the validation message is allocated inline (default if not specified).

Dynamic

Space for the validation message is dynamically allocated when needed.

Example:

            OrderDateRequiredFieldValidator:Display

Applies To

Text Box

<Tag Name>
RequiredFieldValidator:Enabled

Specifies whether an input value is required for the control.

True

A value is required for this control upon input.

False

A value is not required for this control upon input.

Example:

            OrderDateRequiredFieldValidator:Enabled

Applies To

Text Box

<Tag Name>
RequiredFieldValidator:InitialValue

Specifies a value for the ‘NO-SELECTION’ entry for dropdown lists.  The InitialValue pass-through attribute applies only when the RequiredFieldValidator:Enabled pass-through attribute is set to ‘True’.  Upon saving, the selected value is compared to the InitialValue, and if they are the same, an error is displayed to the user requesting they select a value.

Applies To

Dropdown List

<Tag Name>
RequiredFieldValidator:Text

Any text of your choice to display when a value is not entered into the field.

Applies To

Text Box

CausesValidation

Specifies whether the data input on the page should be validated.

True

The data input on the page is validated when the button or link is clicked.

False

The data input on the page is not validated when the button or link is clicked.

 

Applies To

Image Button
Link Button
Push Button

Columns

Specifies the screen width, in characters, of a text box.

Note: Use the MaxLength pass-through attribute to specify how many characters can be entered into the text box control.

Applies To

Text Box

EnableViewState

Specifies whether View State information is saved by the application.

True

View State saving is enabled.

False

View State saving is not enabled.

 

Applies To

Text Box

MaxLength

Specifies the maximum number of characters that can be entered in a text box control.  Note: MaxLength works only for single-line and password text boxes; it does not work when TextMode is ‘Multiline’.

Applies To

Text Box

RepeatColumn

Specifies the number of columns to display when a radio button list is selected.  The number of rows displayed depends on the number of values in the underlying data being displayed.  Use the RepeatColumns pass-through attribute in conjunction with the RepeatDirection.

Applies To

Radio Button List

RepeatDirection

Specifies the layout for a radio button list.  The number of rows and columns displayed depends on the number of values in the underlying data being displayed.

Vertical

Displays the number of rows specified by the RepeatColumns pass-through attribute.

Horizontal

Displays the number of columns specified by the RepeatColumns pass-through attribute.

 

Applies To

Radio Button List

RepeatLayout

Table

Formats a radio button list nicely, like in a table cell.

You can also use the cellpadding and cellspacing pass-through attributes to increase or decrease the spacing between the radio button list columns.

Applies To

Dropdown List
List Box
Radio Button List

Rows

Specifies the number of rows when multi-line text box is selected via the TextMode pass-through attribute.

Applies To

Text Box

TabIndex

Specifies the numeric sequence order for tabbing between fields.  ‘1’ is the first field displayed, ‘2’ is the second, and so on.

Applies To

Text Box
Dropdown List
List Box
Radio Button List
Button

Text

Specifies the initial text (initial value) displayed in the field.

Applies To

Text Box

TextMode

Specifies whether a password or multi-line text box control is generated.

Password

Designates the field as a password field.  Asterisks are displayed instead of the text content of the field.

Multiline

The field is a multi-line field and permits multi-line input.

If you wish a single line text box to be displayed – the most common case – then omit the TextMode pass-through attribute.  The default is a single-line text box when the TextMode pass-through attribute is not set.

Applies To

Text Box

Visible

True

The field is visible (displayed).

False

The field is invisible (not displayed).

 

Applies To

Text Box

Width

Sets the width of the .NET control.

Note: Please be sure to rebuild the application after adding the pass-through attribute.  The updated page and code won't be generated unless you rebuild.

Applies To

Nearly all .NET controls, including:
Dropdown List
Label
Literal
Text Box

Obsolete Iron Speed Designer Pass-Through Attributes

Your application may contain these pass-through attributes that are no longer used and are obsolete.  In general, most obsolete pass-through attributes are benign and will not affect the code generated in your application or your application’s run-time operation.

ASP.NET Control Property

Description

TextFormat

This pass-through attribute is no longer used in Iron Speed Designer V4.2 and later.  Its presence in applications generated with Iron Speed Designer V4.2 and later may cause the generated pages to display improperly.  To correct this, simply delete this pass-through attribute on any control in your application where it is used.

Note: Please be sure to rebuild the application after removing this pass-through attribute.  The updated page and code won't be generated unless you rebuild.

Applies To

Text Box

 

Other .NET Control Properties

Please refer to Microsoft’s online help for a complete list of ASP.NET control properties.  Some useful links are:

Check Box .NET Properties:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/cpref/html/frlrfSystemWebUIWebControlsCheckBoxPropertiesTopic.asp?frame=true

Text Box .NET Properties:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/cpref/html/frlrfSystemWebUIWebControlsTextBoxPropertiesTopic.asp?frame=true

Radio Button List .NET Properties:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/cpref/html/frlrfSystemWebUIWebControlsRadioButtonListPropertiesTopic.asp?frame=true

Validator controls and the EnableClientScript attribute

ASP.NET controls can use the EnableClientScript attribute to specify where the data validation should take place, server-side or client-side.  When EnableClientScript is ‘True’, validation occurs client-side in the web browser. When EnableClientScript is ‘False’, validation occurs server-side in your application program.  The default is ‘True’.

For applications generated by Iron Speed Designer V4.2 and later, ASP.NET Validator controls like RequiredFieldValidator do not work when the EnableClientScript attribute is ‘False’.  I.e., data validation error messages are not displayed and the user is not prompted to enter a correct value.

Iron Speed Designer generates the RequiredFieldValidator validator in application web pages, but it does not explicitly set the EnableClientScript attribute.  Hence, the default value ‘True’ is assumed.  However, you may encounter problems if you explicitely set the EnableClientScript to ‘False’ in the RequiredFieldValidator or any other validator.

See also

Pass-Through Attributes

FieldValue Tag