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Question

Type in template field with dynamic lookup

Laserfiche Version 10
Updated October 19, 2023
asked on July 20, 2022

We have a client who has a SQL table of data.  Let's say part number is the key field.  We want to tie the part number template field to the lookup table.  Using the Windows client, they need to be able to type in a part number.  If it matches a value in the table, it would populate other template fields.  If it isn't an existing part number, they would populate the other required template fields themselves.

In short, we need it to work the same way that Forms does when you assign a lookup to a text field.  It is my understanding that this used to work, but stopped after 10.2 (see here https://answers.laserfiche.com/questions/138247/Feature-Request-Allow-users-to-type-into-MaxDropDownLength-lists-again--Turn-off-Dynamic-Field-Validation).

Even if I set the "restrict values" to false in the dynamic fields configuration, it does not allow me to enter anything into the field.  It functionally seems to convert the template text field to a dropdown field.

In this post, Tessa even notes that it should work like this in the desktop client if I set the "restrict values" to False, however that was LF 10.1.2 (https://answers.laserfiche.com/questions/109643/Behavior-change-Request--Dynamic-field-linked-to-a-text-field#110080).

We need a definitive answer on whether or not this can be done. 

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Answer

SELECTED ANSWER
replied on July 21, 2022

Actually, because of customer requirements when the feature was designed. We found that administrators preferred the lists to be enforced for their users to prevent accidental typos and only allow inserting "non-standard" values from more controlled sources.

 

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Replies

replied on July 20, 2022

I was just looking at this in Client version 11 and we could type right into the field now instead of it being a drop down. Looked just like a text field lookup in Forms to me.

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View 1 previous reply
replied on July 20, 2022 • Show version history

Hi Chad,

Thank you for the reply.  I am not seeing this in the desktop client v11.0.2103.223

 

Here is my SQL table

 

My template

 

My dynamic fields

 

See the template being set on a document.  I cannot type in the name field.  I can only click and see the dynamic lookup fields.

 

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replied on July 20, 2022

That is exactly how I remember it being, it turns the text fields into drop downs. Not sure how this customer had them working as free entry fields, but they were able to type and search with a list showing their search results and it was version 11.0

You mentioned

"Even if I set the "restrict values" to false in the dynamic fields configuration, it does not allow me to enter anything into the field.  It functionally seems to convert the template text field to a dropdown field."

And I see your restrict values = false. If you set it to true, does it allow free entry. Of course that makes no sense though.

I am not even sure what the terminology of restrict values means in the context of a drop down field, that is intrinsic to a drop down field.

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replied on October 26, 2022

I just recently posted a similar question. I have a lookup field in my template based on Social Security#. Since it is a lookup, the values are restricted to my table. If the SS# starts with 123 but there are 2000 SS#'s that start with "123" , I don't want all of them to show up in the drop-down. I want the user to be able to type 123-45-6789 which will find it in the lookup table and fill the other fields. 

I hope there is an answer to this!!!

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replied on October 18, 2023 • Show version history

I'd like to know is anyone found a solution or better way to handle this issue. The way our organization uses it is the following: HR team types the EmployeeID on the selected (dropdown) field. Although it is read-only it allows to select rows by typing on this field. That same dynamic field does a lookup and fills up the remaining fields within the template because it has a Parent relationship to the other fields within the template.

The problem is that we have thousands of employees. When someone starts typing on the EmployeeID field, Laserfiche does not wait for the person to finish typing, it automatically grabs whichever employee id is being partially entered and immediately tries filling up the remaining fields with an incorrect match. 

What Laserfiche really needs to do IMHO is add an option so that the template can have some type of parent inputbox that would allow the user to write on it so that he/she can perform a search and from the search let the user select a result. If a result is not selected then it shouldn't let the user escape the window or save the template if selecting a result for that field is required.

Another way to solve this problem is to let the user be able to fully write on the selected value within the dropdown (This would not modify the lookup value but would act as a filter/search). If the value exists Laserfiche should take it after pressing ENTER or equivalent and only then start autofilling the other fields. If the value does not exist then the user should not be able to escape the window or move on because a prompt would say something like "The value typed in does not match any on record. Please select a valid value from the dropdown or type an existing one." etc.

For now I'm open to hearing what the workarounds are because this problem is real and filling in all the metadata manually makes Laserfiche less than ideal for this type of work.

Edit: Fixed typos

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replied on July 21, 2022 • Show version history

Changing the restrict values to true doesn't seem to impact anything.  It doesn't make sense that it would.  I had the same confusion on what impact the "restrict values" have on a dynamic field if it always converts it to a dropdown field?

The help file here link below states... " The Restrict Values option determines the behavior of the field when accessed using the SDK or another application; it is not relevant if you are accessing the values through version 8.2 or later of the Laserfiche web or Windows client."

This seems to match what I'm seeing, but why is it still a feature in the client 3 versions later if it has no impact/is not relevant?   

https://doc.laserfiche.com/laserfiche.documentation/11/administration/en-us/Default.htm#../Subsystems/LFAdmin/Content/Dynamic_Fields.htm?Highlight=restrict%20values

Can anyone from Laserfiche chime in here?

 

 

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replied on July 21, 2022

The Answers threads you mention in your original post are wrong. Dynamic/list fields have always been expected to restrict data entry in the desktop and web clients (and related components, e.g., Scanning, Snapshot, Office plug-in). Any cases where those applications may have allowed data entry were a bug not a feature.

"Restrict values" is meant for applications other than those as the documentation states. Unchecking that box allows an SDK script or Quick Fields to write values not in the list. For ex, QF reads a customer name from the page, but it doesn't quite match it because of image quality. You may want to allow saving the value so the user doing quality checks later can have an idea what to look for to fix. That way documents are not stuck outside of Laserfiche in cases of automated processing. If the box is checked, the server will handle blocking documents from being saved until the value is updated to match one in the list.

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replied on July 21, 2022

Hi Miruna,

Thank you for the reply and the clarification.  I totally understand the use case with QF.  I do have to ask however, why not give the option to decide whether or not the data has to be in the drop-down?  Why not allow the restrict values to apply to desktop client, web client, etc?  It seems like this could be a user option/choice but is being automatically enforced instead.  Gauging the number of threads I've seen on this issue, it seems like this may be a desired feature.

It would actually make more sense if this worked this way.  Its quite confusing to have an option in admin console for a template that only applies in specific Laserfiche applications and not others.

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SELECTED ANSWER
replied on July 21, 2022

Actually, because of customer requirements when the feature was designed. We found that administrators preferred the lists to be enforced for their users to prevent accidental typos and only allow inserting "non-standard" values from more controlled sources.

 

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