Adding Dynamic population lookups to your Request form

In System/Request forms, select the request form to which you want to add the Lookups, by clicking on “Options” and then select the “Edit lookups” mode using the Mode drop down in the top right corner of the screen. If you are carrying on from the Autocomplete lookup setup above, you are already on the right screen.

The screen displaying shows all of the fields in use in your RefTracker form to which Autocomplete or Dynamic Lookups can be applied. Dynamic population lookups can only be used with text boxes and code table fields, so the Dynamic lookup column provides dropdown lists next to each text box and code table field so that an appropriate Dynamic lookup function can be selected for use with that field where appropriate.

A typical Dynamic lookup would be to add customer name and practice group managing the matter as a result of a Lookup up based a matter number.

Fields used for Dynamic lookups should ideally be validated as they are entered in to the form to ensure that the Dynamic will not fail. This can be done by using a code table to limit the values that can be selected, or by also using an auto complete Lookup on this field. If the Lookup fails, no data will be retrieved and no data will be passed to the RefTracker Request form.

The data source being looked up and the data that will be retrieved from that data source are defined by the Lookup definition selected here. New Lookups can be created in System>Lookup menu>Lookup definitions, if an appropriate Lookup definition does not already exist.

In the screen print below a Dynamic lookup has been selected for the Matter number field.

Where a field has been defined as “Dynamic population“, entry of a value in that field will result in the other information being retrieved as defined in that Lookup. Only fields that have been defined in the Request form as Display, Optional, or Mandatory fields will appear in the form, and they will be dynamically filled into the form as entry of the field they are based on is completed.

When the Lookup is performed all data retrieved by the Lookup will be saved into the RefTracker fields defined by that Lookup, but ONLY if those fields are included in the design of the Request form – data retrieved MUST have a field in the form into which it is saved (the field can be a Hidden field) or else it will not be saved.

If the Lookup fails, no data will be retrieved and no data will be passed to the RefTracker Request form.

Exercise

Using the instructions above, set up any Dynamic population Lookups required by your form. Save your changes and then test your Request form. Don’t forget that data returned from your Lookup will only be saved into questions entered using your Request form, if you include the RefTracker Data dictionary fields mapped to in Systems>Lookups menu>Lookups definitions View lookups details, into your Request form Edit layout screen.