Request forms – Preview screen

When you choose Preview mode you are shown what the screen you are working with will look like in the staff interface (which is usually very similar to what it will look like in the client interface), except that the staff view you see will be surrounded by the ability to change the Receipt and Allocation information, and the attachment function is different in the client interface).

To see what the client will see click the “Click here to open the client version of this form” link near the top of the page.  The main difference between what staff see and what the client sees is how attachments are handled.  Note that, just as the form cannot be Submitted in preview mode, the Attachment link does not operate in Preview mode.

Using Preview mode regularly when you are editing a Request form makes the whole process very easy as it’s so easy to see the results of your changes!  Invalid request forms cannot be viewed in the Preview screen – fix the validation errors that are listed on this screen and you will then be able to Preview the form.

Importantly this screen also provides the URL that you can used to bring up this form in your web pages – it will always be in the format
<YourRefTrackerDomain>/reft100.aspx?key=<formKey>
where <formKey> is the value showing in the System>Request form summary screen “Key” column for that Request form.
See the section entitled Passing information into request forms using URL parameters for information about how other information can be passed into the request form, as it is displayed, by adding parameters to this URL.

Where a form has been enabled for client use, this part of the Preview page also provides a link that will display the form as it will appear to clients, so that the form can be easily tested.

For those using the RefTracker API, this screen also provides helpful information about submitting requests through this form using the API.

View XSD schema, shows the XML definition of the valid fields and values for this form – assisting those wanting to create their own form.
View parsed XSD, shows eye readable, field by field information about the valid values that can be submitted.
View sample XML, shows sample XML for submitting a request using this form.

Exercise:

Carefully note the design of this form, so that your observations can be used to understand the Edit layout mode that we will look at next.

Every form is different but you will notice:

• Headings that can have some associated text describing how to use that part of the form.
• Fields where data can be entered or selected, such as contact details, and details of your question or request.
• Labels associated with those fields that describe the information required.  These field labels may also have text associated with them that provide further instructions about completing that field.
• A symbol such as a tick or an asterisk that indicates the field is mandatory for completion.

When you are familiar with the layout of this form, change the screen display Mode to Edit layout, by dropping down the Mode list in the top right hand corner and choosing Edit layout. The screen will redisplay.