Dropdown

Allows to use standard features of a dropdown.

A dropdown is a graphical user interface element that allows a user to select one option out of a set of predefined options. Dropdowns are characterized by a wider set of options than that of a radio button. Radio buttons rarely have more than three options, while dropdowns can contain many more options. For advanced features, use the multi-feature Dropdown.

Table 1. Dropdown Properties
Property Description
Required Select the check box to send the input to the query.
Target Data The target data defines where the information will be sent.
Options Dropdowns require multiple options that are mutually exclusive. Use these available options to populate dropdown list items:
  • Select Hard Coded to manually enter and fill items for the dropdown.
    1. Select + Add Option.
    2. Enter Option text.
    3. Enter Option value.
  • Select Dynamic to populate dropdown list items using queries.
    1. Select a Value from the database.
    2. Select the Display text.
Data Select this option if you want to provide data by means of a query output or a global parameter.
Manual Select this option if you want to manually provide data.
Submit on change Select the check box if you want to submit the query whenever the input value is updated.
First Option By default, the first option in a dropdown is blank. It is recommended to manually enter option text such as please select, instead of a dropdown that appears empty. Enter its option value to be none.

Possible Uses

Dropdowns are similar in nature to radio buttons in that they require a mutually exclusive selection. However, while radio buttons are generally used for options between only a few choices, dropdowns can include hundreds of choices. One example of a drop-down list box could be selecting a country of residence. Every country in the world will take up too much space if displayed as radio buttons, while in a drop-down list box, the information can be more elegantly contained. The information selected could be converted to other information depending on the target data. For example, the country could be changed to a telephone prefix by setting the value to be telephone prefix and the display as the country name.

Example: An entity named Wiki has been already defined to store the prefecture names in Japan. The direct option value entering of 47 prefecture names is not productive. This entity value usage is productive. The necessary steps are just to specify this entity in the property after allocating dropdown on a page. In this sample, an entity field called PREF is specified both for Display and Value, where the prefecture names are stored.
  1. Drag-and-drop the dropdown widget to a container.
  2. Select the dropdown widget in the container to access the DROPDOWN PROPERTIES tab
  3. Under the GENERAL section, provide the details as specified in the table:
    Field Description
    Label Enter Select an option.
  4. Under the DATA section, provide the details as specified in the table:
    Field Description
    Target Data Select a query.
    Options Select Dynamic.
    Value Select PREF.
    Display Select PREF.
    Submit on change Select the check box.

In the practical application, a query can be executed based on the option selection in dropdown and the facility or company status in the prefecture can be displayed on a map as markers.