Infowise Connected Field User Guide

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1 Infowise Connected Field Introduction Infowise Connected Field is custom SharePoint 2007/2010 field type that adds advanced functionality beyond the limitations of the built-in lookup field, such as filtering according to the value of another, master column in the same list item, filtering values according to a view and adding new values directly from the column. The field can function as a stand-alone lookup column or as a master-detail cascading lookup column. When operating in the latter mode the column presents a selection of possible values from the source list, filtered by the master column. For example, attached to a complete list of cities, the column will only show cities located in the country, which value was beforehand selected in the Country column. When the Country field selection is changed, the corresponding values are fetched using AJAX technology, not requiring page refreshes. The field can be used as a regular list column or as a site column. Site columns can be re-used across the site collection in the site where it was defined and all the subsites. It can be added to a list directly or added to a content type to be reused. Please note that both the master lookup column and the master-detail lookup column must be present in the same content type/list. The Connected Field column can be attached to master column with both single and multiple selection, and also be configured to allow single or multiple selection of values. NOTE: custom fields in SharePoint will remain read-only in Spreadsheet view and in Document Information Panel in Office 2007/2010. Installation NOTE: as the product is installed as a SharePoint Solution, you need to install it only once, regardless of the number of your front-end servers. Run the installation package from one of your front-end servers and follow the onscreen instructions. You do not have to change the default settings. If you have purchased the product, use the Infowise license management page accessible through the Central Administration site. Enter the License Key under Copyright 2010 by Infowise Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 1

2 corresponding product. If no License Key is entered, the version is time-limited to 30 days. Both full and time-limited versions contain the same functionality. Usage The following instruction guides you step-by-step through the process of setting up a sample Infowise Connected Fields implementation. Your real-life settings procedure is very similar. When used as a stand-alone lookup column, it functions similarly to the built-in lookup column, with the addition of the following capabilities: Filter by view optionally select one of the views of the source list to retrieve only the items present in that view Add new entries optionally enable adding new values directly from the column in New/Edit form. 1. Defining a new column The following instructions guide through the process of setting up a sample cascading column. Create a new list called Product Categories, and fill it with sample data. Figure 1 - Filling Product Categories with data using the Spreadsheet view Create a second list called Products, and add a regular lookup column to Product Categories, name it Category and fill this list with sample data. Copyright 2010 by Infowise Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 2

3 Figure 2 - Filling Products with data using the Spreadsheet view Create a third list called Sales Add a lookup column to Product Categories, name it Category Add a Master-detail lookup column and define it according to the following: In the lookup section define the column as a lookup to Products. Make sure the checkbox Link To Parent is checked (default). In the Parent Field select the Category column you added earlier (the lookup to Product Categories). In Link Column choose the Category (the column that was mapped to Product Category in Products the filtering column in the lookup list). Copyright 2010 by Infowise Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 3

4 Figure 3 - Defining the Master-detail lookup field Now add a new item to the list and see that as you choose a value from Category field, the Products column will be filtered accordingly (no page refresh is needed). Figure 4 - Editing item with a Master-detail field 2. Site Columns and Content Types The field can also be used in site columns, and, by extension, in content types. Create Product Categories and Products lists according to the instructions above. You may want to create the lists in the top level site of the site collection to make the site columns available to all sites in the site collection. In the same site create a site column named Product Category connected to the Product Categories list. Create a new Master-detail lookup column in the same site, name it Product. Set the Parent Field to Product Category and Link Column to Category. Copyright 2010 by Infowise Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 4

5 You may now use the column in lists of the current site and its sub-sites. Please note that you must add both Product Category and Product field. You can also use the columns in content types. Here also you need to add both fields to the same content type. 3. Adding New Values It is possible to allow entering new values directly from the column. Please note that the user must have sufficient permissions in the source list to be able to use this functionality (the New Entry button is hidden when the user does not have permissions regardless of whether or not data entry is enabled on the column). In the column settings check the Allow adding values checkbox. When adding/editing a list item in the list that uses the Connected Field column you will see a new link button New Entry. Click on the button to open the entry text field. Enter a new value and click on Add. The value you just entered will be added to the source list and will appear in the list of possible values. When using the column in a master-detail relationship (when the Link To Parent is checked) you must select a parent column value beforehand, otherwise you cannot add a new value. Figure 5 - Inline adding of a new value You can enter the new value inline or by using a popup window. The method of data entry is specified in the column settings. To use the popup check the Use New form checkbox. Figure 6 - Specifying new item addition method 4. Filtering by View You can filter the values in the lookup field according to the filter settings of a view. For example, you can create a view showing only active project and configure the column to only show active project names. Copyright 2010 by Infowise Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 5

6 In the column settings check Advanced settings checkbox Select a view from the list of existing views Save settings Your lookup is now filtered according to the view s filter 5. Setting Source Site By default Connected Field looks up value from a list in the current site. This is only possible option of the built-in lookup field. Connected Field also allows you to specify any site in the current site collection and select any list from that site as the source for the lookup. The site collection site structure is shown exactly as the current user would see it, without hidden or restricted sites. Depending on the depth of each site, its name is prepended with one or more dashes. 6. Specifying Additional Lookup Columns Connected Field can create and manage additional column from the same source list. These columns look up data from the same item as the parent Connected Field and are filled and updated automatically. You create additional columns from the parent Connected Field settings and you also remove the column from the same place by checking and unchecking columns in the Advanced section of the Connected Field column. Figure 7 - Adding additional columns 7. Converting from and to Regular Lookup Infowise Connected Field support converting regular built-in lookup fields to Infowise Connected Field and vice versa. This way you can upgrade your existing lists to the additional functionality of the Connected Field without having to change the list/view structure and without re-entering the data. For example, you may want to add the in-line value entry provided by Connected Field, which is not available in the regular lookup. Or you can remove Connected Field from your system without losing data. Copyright 2010 by Infowise Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 6

7 7.1. Converting from Regular Lookup Execute the following steps to convert your existing lookup column into a Connected Field column: Make sure you have a lookup column ready in your list. Go to list settings menu and choose to create a new column Choose Infowise Connected Field radio button under field type selection on the column creation page. Scroll to the bottom of the page and check Advanced Settings checkbox to reveal the advanced settings section. Select your lookup column in the Convert from dropdown and press on Convert. The column will be converted and you will be transferred to the Edit form of your newly converted column. Specify the additional settings unique to the Connected Field, such as View, Allow value entry and such Save the column Converting to Regular Lookup Execute the following steps to convert your Connected Field column to a regular lookup column: Enter your column s edit page. Scroll to the bottom of the page. If not already checked, check the Advanced Settings checkbox to reveal the advanced settings section. Click on Convert to Regular Lookup. The column will be converted and you will be transferred to the Edit form of your newly converted column. Figure 8 - Convert to a Regular Lookup Note: your Connected Field specific settings will be kept, so you can convert the column back at any time. These settings do not interfere with the regular lookup column in any way. Copyright 2010 by Infowise Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 7