Version: 2020.3.2

Configuration

ExtraAttributes Classification Plugin

The ExtraAttributes and ExtraDocAttributes implement the inPoint IClassification Plugin in order to extend the standard Forms, and are also extensible with their own Plugins (in fact, almost everything inside the ExtraAttributes is implemented as a Plugin).

The ExtraAttributes Classification Plugin:

can be used either for Folders (ExtraAttributes) or Documents (ExtraDocAttributes)
supports an unlimited number of Attributes
support multiple types (aka EditorControl – built-in or extensible)
each loading/saving data from any DataSource (built-in or extensible)
supports fields Validators (built-in or extensible)
supports Expressions (e.g. for Readonly or Required flags)
show a custom Layout (with groups, tabs, columns, etc...)

Setup

The ExtraAttributes Classification plugin is part of the core installation and resides inside the inPoint.Plugins.dll so you only need to add to your chosen Format:

Create a new ElementFormat (or New Folder with new Element Format)
In the Plugins Tab, click the + Button (on the right) to add a new Plugin
Choose the ExtraAttributes or ExtraDocAttributes
Check the Box under the column „Enable“ (otherwise it will not be visible)
Click the gear Button (on the right) to open the ExtraAttributes Configuration Dialog

Editors

Editors (aka EditorControls) are the visible part that let the user interact with a certain Attribute.

Each Attribute can only have one EditorControl, and their functionality greatly varies.

inPoint comes with a pre-defined set of EditorControls, but it’s „easy“ to extend and create new ones.

Common Attributes

Common Name*

Identifier (no spaces nor special characters, must begin with a letter)

Display Name

The label to show to the user. If none set it will convert adjust the Common Name (replace _ with spaces, capitalize letters) Wnter one space to „hide“ it (e.g. for Grids)!

Editor Type*

Default: Text

Which editor to use

Editor Parameters

Wach Editor has it’s own set of properties

Data Source*

Default: Blob

Storage of this attribute’s value(s)

ReadOnly*

Default: No

Whether the user is allowed to edit this; can specify an Expression to be evaluated only at startup (no dynamic evaluation)

Required*

Default: No

whether a value is required; can specify an Expression to be evaluated only at startup (no dynamic evaluation)

Validation/Validation Properties

Which Validation Plugin to use

Default Value

Which value to initially assign

Editor Types

For a complete list of all available Editors see Editors

Lookup Repositories

A Lookup Repositories is basically a custom user-specified SQL Table (inside the inPoint DB Default Schema) that MUST include at the bare minimum 3 columns

Columns

SEQID

pkey, int, auto, not null

SequenceID to identify the Row automatically set by the DB

PARENTSEQID

int, null

SequenceID or the parent row

VALUE

nvarchar, null

The display value

You can add any custom column you wish. Such a Table is then either imported (or optionally created from scratch) using the inPoint.Admin (see external documentation) – only then it can be used in inPoint as a Lookup Repository.

Such a Repository can then be used:

To feed values to a selection list (e.g. Lookup RepositoryId (pre-defined))
As datasource for the Grids (GridRepository and LinkedGridRepository)

Note that there is no type mapping between ExtraAttributes values and the columns – it’s your responsibility to make sure Text data is used in nvarchar columns, Date in DateTime and so on...

Editors Advanced Topics

Input Masks for Text / Numbers

https://www.infragistics.com/help/wpf/xaminputs-masks

Mask Character	Title	Use with:	Description
#	Digit placeholder	xamCurrencyInput xamNumericInput xamMaskedInput	Characters must be numeric (0-9) and entry is required. Example: `(###)-###-####`
.	Decimal placeholder	xamCurrencyInput xamNumericInput xamMaskedInput	Characters are required as specified as the decimal placeholder as defined by the system’s international settings. Characters are treated as literals for masking purposes.
,	Thousands separator	xamCurrencyInput xamNumericInput xamMaskedInput	Characters are delimited by the thousands separator as defined by the system’s international settings. This character is treated as a literal for masking purposes.
:	Time separator	xamMaskedInput	Characters are delimited by the time separator as defined by the system’s international settings. This character is treated as a literal for masking purposes.
/	Date separator	xamMaskedInput	This character is also treated as a literal for masking purposes.
\	Escape next chatacter	xamMaskedInput	This character instructs the mask to treat the next character in the mask string as a literal. This allows you to include the `#`, `&`, `A`, and `?` as well as other characters with special meanings in the mask. This character is treated as a literal for masking purposes.
&	Character placeholder	xamMaskednput	Valid values for this placeholder are ANSI characters in the following ranges: 32-126 and 128-255 (keyboard and foreign symbol characters).
>		xamMaskedInput	Converts all characters that follow to uppercase
<		xamMaskedInput	Converts all characters that follow to lowercase
A	Alphanumeric character placeholder	xamMaskedInput	Represents an alphanumeric character. For example: a-z, A-Z, or 0-9. Character entry is required .
a	Alphanumeric character placeholder	xamMaskedInput	For example: a-z, A-Z, or 0-9. Character entry is not required .
9	Digit placeholder	xamCurrencyInput xamNumericInput xamMaskedInput	Character must be numeric (0-9) but entry is not required.
h	Hexadecimal digit placeholder	xamNumericInput xamMaskedInput	Character must be a hexadecimal digit (0-9 or a-f). The entry is required. A-F digits will be converted to lower case.
H	Hexadecimal digit placeholder	xamNumericInput xamMaskedInput	Same as `h` placeholder however the a-f digits are converted to upper case.
-	Minus sign (optional)	xamCurrencyInput xamNumericInput xamMaskedInput	Minus sign when followed by a number section defined by series of `n`’s (like in "-nn,nnn.nn") indicates that negative numbers are allowed. When not followed by a series of `n`’s, it’s taken as a literal. Minus sign is only shown when the number is actually negative.
+	Plus sign (optional)	xamCurrencyInput xamNumericInput xamMaskedInput	Plus sign when followed by a number section defined by series of `n`s (like in `nn,nnn.nn`) indicates that negative numbers are allowed. However, it differs from `-` in the respect that it always shows a '' or a `-` sign depending on whether the number is positive or negative.
C	Character or space placeholder	xamMaskedInput	Character entry is not required. This operates exactly like the `&` placeholder, and ensures compatibility with Microsoft Access.
?	Letter placeholder	xamMaskedInput	For example: a-z or A-Z. Character entry is not required.
n	Digit placeholder	xamCurrencyInput xamNumericInput xamMaskedInput	A group of `n`’s can be used to create a numeric section where numbers are entered from right to left. Character must be numeric (0-9) but entry is not required.
{char:n:s}	Arbitrary set of accepted characters	xamMaskedInput	The `{char:n:s}` mask allows you to define a placeholder with arbitrary set of acceptable characters. The `n` in the mask specifies the number of character placeholders in the mask. The `s` specifies the set of acceptable characters. The following are some examples of this mask: `{char:1:abc}` - This mask will have single character placeholder that will accept `a`, `b` or `c` characters only. `{char:4:abc}` - Same as above except 4 character placeholders is created. `{char:8:0-9a-f`} - 8 character placeholders where each will allow 0-9 and a-f characters (in effect hexadecimal characters).
mm, dd, yy	Date characters	xamMaskedInput	The combination of these three tokens is used to define a date mask. The mm is for month, dd for day, yy for two-digit years and yyyy for four-digit years. Examples: mm/dd/yyyy, yyyy/mm/dd, mm/yy.
hh, mm, ss, tt	Time characters	xamMaskedInput	The combination of these tokens is used to define a time mask. The hh is for hour, mm for minute, ss for second, and tt for AM/PM. Examples: hh:mm, hh:mm tt, hh:mm:ss.
{date:<n>} {time:<n>}	Date and Time	xamMaskedInput	The `{date:<n>}` and `{time:<n>}` tokens are placeholder for formatting date and time using the underlying culture settings. `<n>` can be: `d` Short date format `g` Short date, short time (excluding seconds) `G` Short date, long time (including seconds) `t` Short time (excluding seconds) `T` Long time (including seconds)
{dateTime:<n>}	Date and Time	xamMaskedInput	The `{dateTime:\<n\>}` token is a placeholder for formatting date and time using the underlying culture settings. `<n>` can be: `d` Short date format `g` Short date, short time (excluding seconds) `G` Short date, long time (including seconds) `t` Short time (excluding seconds) `T` Long time (including seconds). `R` RTC Timesamp with date and time in GMT
{double:-i.f:c}	Customized floating poing input	xamNumericInput xamMaskedInput	The `{double:i.f:c}` token is a placeholder for a mask that allows floating point input where i and f specify the number of digits in the integer and fraction portions respectively. The :c portion of the mask is optional and specifies that the value must be continuous across fraction and integer portions. For example, with :c in the mask, in order to enter 12.34 the user types in "1234". Notice that the decimal separator character is missing. This alleviates the user from having to manually type in the decimal separator. The "-" (minus) symbol before i.f is also optional. Presence of ‘-‘ symbol indicates that the negative values are allowed. If ‘-‘ symbol is not included then only non-negative values will be allowed.
{currency:-i.f:c}	Customized currency input	xamCurrencyInput	Same as `{double:i.f:c}` except the mask is constructed based on currency formatting information of the underlying format provider or the culture. It typically has the currency symbol and also displays the group characters.
{number:min-max}	Range of numbers	xamCurrencyInput xamNumericInput xamMaskedInput	The `{number:min-max}` placeholder is used for a number section that can accept values in the range from min to max. Examples: `{number:0-255}`, `{number:-10-10}`.
Literal		All input controls	All other symbols are displayed as literals; that is, they appear as themselves.

NOTE: You can also escape the mask with {LOC} character sequence to indicate that symbols in the following table should be mapped to the associated symbols in the underlying culture settings.

Mask Character	Description
$	Currency symbol
/	Date separator
:	Time separator
,	Thousands separator
.	Decimal separator
+	Positive sign
-	Negative sign

Outlook Contacts

Allows Drag&Drop of an Outlook Contact directly on the Grid and will fill out accordingly.

For each column in the Grid you can setup the Outlook Contact field mapping.

Single/Multiple select rows, and context menu “Send Email” will open the DocTemplates Email Templates, if any files are selected in the current DocList then those will also be attached.

“Export to Excel” will export the whole Grid to an Excel file saved locally (path chosen by user).

Grid Summary (Fulltext indexing)

You can now use the Folder_ prefix for Grids (linking to a standard Folder Text Attribute), which fills the Folder attribute with a text summary of ALL grid contents – basically allowing you to index the grid’s contents as a whole (in case it’s marked for Search).

Expressions and the Expression Builder

Expressions are an „easy“ way to replace an hard-coded value and add some logic to be evaluated at run time.

An Expressions is made up of:

Tokens: evaluated and replaced on runtime, can be
- References to other Attributes
- References to any Folder/Document Field
- Dynamic Values (like the current Time and/or Date, ItemUri)
- User properties (like his name or id)
- Unique GUID
Arithmetic Operators: add,subtract,multiple,divide
Comparision Operators: =, <>, <, <=, >, >=, IN, LIKE
Logical Operators: And,Or,Not
String Operators: Length, IsNull, Substring, Trim, IIF

You can either type this directly by yourself (there is also a Token helper for that), or show the Expression Builder Dialog which will list all available Tokens and Operators.

Boolean Expressions

Return a True or False value (e.g. for IsReadonly or IsRequired properties)

Text Expressions

Return a Text made up of Tokens to be further used

NOTES:

In order to avoid user confusion, there are no detailed error messages Dialogs to the user when an Expression Evaluation error occurs – those are only visible in the Debug log
Be wary of invalid/missing values – if a Token cannot be found it will be removed which might cause unexpected results in the evaluation

Required/Readonly Expressions

You can now set the Required and/or Readonly flags for any Editor to be an Expression; this will be evaluated at startup only (no dynamic changes).

Security based expression

Example: Required Expression based on a Checkbox

Use Case: have the selection of a checkbox affect another attribute‘s Required property.

NOTE:

a Checkbox has 3 states: Unset, True and False so you need to either:

Set a Default value of True or False
Handle the Unset state in the Expression (which also results in a True or False)

Setup

Field1 is a Checkbox, Field2 is Text.

Field2.Required set to Custom with the following Expression:

IIF( LEN({Field1}) = 0, False, {Field1}) <> False

In this case if the Checkbox is unset (length = 0) we‘ll handle it as a False.

That is then compared and if NOT False, the whole Expression will return True.

So to summarize, if Field1 (the Checkbox) is:

Unset – will return false
True – will return true
False – will return false

Default Value

You can now set a default value to any Editor:

If it’s a checkbox/toggle (boolean), you can use True or False
To use a string you must quote it in single quotes
You can enter an Expression to be evaluated on startup (no dynamic changes)
In case of a Multiple selection, you can also set multiple default values (CSV – comma separated)

Grid Control Button Bar

A Toolbar to allow the User to manage the Master/Details View

Parameters

Grid

Select an existing Grid which this ControlBar should reference

Clear

Whether to show the „Clear Details View“ button

Add

Whether to show the „Add as new“ button

Add Link

Whether to show the „Add as Link“ button

Add Link

The „Grid Control Bar – AddLink Dialog“ Editor to use

Delete

Whether to show the „Delete“ button (Delete is always available by the keyboard Del button or right-clicking in the Grid)

Export / E-Mail

Whether to show the extra actions (related to the Grid itself)

Grid Control Bar – AddLink Dialog

This Editor is required when using the Master/Details view in combination with the LinkedGridRepository and will show a Dialog for the User to choose an existing row for „adding as a link“ to the current Master View.

Master/Details View

Master/Details views are used, if a grid and a detailed view (of fields) is needed for editing.

Components

It contains 2 components:

The grid for showing data in a table form
The fields for detail view and editing

Setup

First you have to define a grid with all your column fields. (see Embedded multiple entries (grid)).

Afterwards you can add the fields you have used for the column configuration to the layout (as normal fields - see Layout).

NOTES:

The Grid must be READONLY – no editing in place allowed
The Grid must contain ALL columns – otherwise the load/save will miss those – you can hide specific ones in the Column configuration
GridRepository vs LinkedGridRepository

Multiple Selections

The List* Family of Editors supports multiple selections; the value will then be converted into a CSV list showing up as Text.

There is currently no support for splitting those in the Document Lists, Filtering or Fulltext search.

Validation

ExtraAttributes fields allow you to specify two settings regarding validation:

a Validation Plugin (a list of all available plugins will be shown)
a Validation Parameter

Note the difference between a Validation and an Input Mask

a Validation will allow the user to enter any value, but will show a red border (and a Validation warning) if the value fails validation; in this case the Save button will also be disabled
an Input Mask will NOT allow the user to enter anything that wont match the Mask, and will revert to the previous valid value if the value fails

RegularExpressionValidationRule

The „RegularExpressionValidationRule“ accepts a regex as parameter which will be evaluated against the value.

OnlineIBANValidationRule

The „OnlineIBANValidationRule“ doesn't need an parameters. IBANs will be validated against https://openiban.com

NOTE: In case of an error / not reachable website, an error popup will be shown.

DateHigherThanValidationRule

The „DateHigherThanValidationRule“ accepts the name of an date field as parameter. A localized error message will be shown in the form, e.g. (german):

Localization

Attribute’s DisplayName

In the ExtraAttributes Configuration Window, under the tab "Localizations" all translations for all supported Languages can be done. For each ExtraAttributes Field one Row is shown in the Grid. The Fallback language will be always German!

On the bottom left of this Window there is the possibility to automatically translate from one Language to any other. First i recommend to fill out one localization for one Language complete manually. Then choose this Language as "From" and select the Language the system should translate "to". After click on "Start" all empty "to" Language values will be translated using Google Translator. After every automatic translation the values can be edited manually as well!

Layout

Form Title, Captions, Box‘s titles are under discussion.

Layout

Empty

All the Attributes will be automatically be shown (one per row)

CSV Layout

You can use the „Name“ of the Attribute to specify which ones to show.

You can show multiple Attributes on the same row by separating them with a comma (that’s why it’s called the CSV Layout).

ONLY the Attributes you are including will be shown.

Rows can either start with:

# -> title
_ -> separator
Name of Attribute; you can change the default length by setting name=pxWidth

XML Layout

This is by far the most advanced layout which allows groups, tabs, columns, etc...

Note that this is not real XML, since:

Names are case-insensitive
Values are case-insensitive
There is no XML validation – any errors and the Form will not show
... but still requires close tags!

Follows a very basic structure:

On the top the <layout> tag
Then as many as you wish <box> tags

Inside each <box> you can either:

nest more <box> tags (as deep as you want)
specify a CSV Layout (enclosed in <csv> tags)
create layout columns using the <cols> element, each child <box> then becomes a Column

The <box> tag has many properties (some specific to the Type), the only ones shared across all:

Type: specifies the type of the Box
Name: identifier (used to reference this Box)

Currently following <box> Types are supported:

clear – no border and NO header (used for layouting)
border – frame (thin border) with NO title
expander – user can expand/collapse
- isOpen=true/false to set default state
- title to set the header
groupbox – framed (thin border) with title
- title to set the header
tab to specify a Tab host
- isFullscreen=true/false when only one Tab host is used and it should fill the whole screen (scrollbars are then only scrolling the inside area and not the whole page)
tabItem (only inside <box type=“tab“>) per Tab
- isSelected=true/false to set default tab (last one selected „wins“)
- title to set the header

Layout Boxes Configuration

A special EditorControl called „Layout Boxes Configuration“ allows you to dynamically show/hide a whole <box> section by evaluating an Expression.

In order to set it up:

Name the <box> you would like to dynamically show/hide
Add an Attribute using the EditorType: „Layout Boxes Configuration“
Expand the Editor’s Parameters and add a Box item:
- Configure the name (as above)
- Configure the Visible property: set to Custom and enter an Expression
Add it somewhere to your layout (even though it has no visual output)

NOTES:

these are dynamic and evaluated in real-time
if hidden a box will not take up any space; if shown it will take as much as it needs (so scrollbars might appear)
if all TabItems are hidden in a specific Tab host, the Tab host itself will also be hidden

Example: GroupBox visibility based on Checkbox

Use Case: a Feedback checkbox – once checked the a Comments field will be visible

Setup

Rename Field1 to „Feedback“, set EditorType to „Boolean as Checkbox“, DefaultValue to „False“
Add Field2 and rename to „Comments“, set EditorType to „Memo“
Add Field3, set EditorType: „Layout Boxes Configuration“, expand Editor Parameters and set:
- Box name: „commentsBox“
- Visibile: Custom, Expression:
  - {Feedback}

Layout

<layout>
    <box>
        <csv>
            Field3
            Feedback
        </csv>
    </box>
    <box name="commentsBox">
        <csv>
            Comments
        </csv>
    </box>
</layout>

Example CSV Layout

Example Tab Layout

NOTE: starting 2018.1 the Tab layout has been simplified and now looks like this: (no more special Tab/TabItems – only new Box types)

Layout

<layout>
    <box type="tab" isFullscreen="true">
        <box title="Contacts" isSelected="true" type="tabItem">
            <csv>
                GRID_CONTACTS
                GRID_CONTACTS_COMMANDBAR
            </csv>
        </box>
        <box title="Contact Details" type="tabItem">
            <csv>
                SEQID
                ANREDE,TITLE
                FUNCTION
                DEPARTMENT
                ROLE
                COMMENT
                STATUS
                NAME,LAST_NAME
                TEL_WORK,TEL_MOBILE
                EMAIL
                COMPANY,ADDRESS
                GRID_CONTACTS_DETAILS_COMMANDBAR
            </csv>
        </box>
    </box>
</layout>

Box type „Tab“ Properties (the host for all TabItems):

Name (optional): box identifier
isFullscreen (optional, default: false): when this Tab host is the ONLY one in whole layout (no inPoint Classification, etc…) the scrollbar will be WITHIN the tabItem and not outside – meaning the Tabs themselves will stay in place while scrolling
NOTE that this Box can ONLY include Box type=”TabItem”!

Box type “TabItem” Properties (each individual Tab):

Name (optional): box identifier
isSelected (optional, default: false): whether this Tab should be pre-selected when first time loading

DataProviders and Sources

ExtraAttributes supports multiple Data Sources, meaning it can load/save ANY of it’s Attributes from a different data source. The way this works;

inPoint provides a default set of „Data Providers“
you then define a „Data Source“ that uses any of those „Data Providers“ and any addition configuration as required
each Attribute can then reference a „Data Source“

Every DataSource can be set as READONLY to (optionally temporarly) disable any saving (loading would still work). They are executed alphabetically (based on their name) – the last one „wins“.

There are 2 major kinds of DataProviders, those that:

provide ONE row of Data – for example to map to a certain Attribute (Repository, ExternalSource)
provide MULTIPLE rows of Data – for example to fill a Grid (GridRepository, LinkedGridRepository)
some can handle both – like for example the Blob or ItemFields DataProviders

Note that most of them use Lookup Repositories for the Back-end (so require some setup), the ExternalSource is currently the only one that can query any SQL Table.

Folder_* and Document_*

In previous versions we added the feature that if the CommonName of an Attribute starts with the prefix „Folder_“ then the loading / saving of the value will be applied to whichever Folder attribute exists with the same name. That enabled use cases like:

Grid Summary (Fulltext indexing)
Fulltext indexing of any ExtraAttributes (since those are not yet included in the normal FT Index)
Pre-loading values from the back-end
Accessing values set from ExtraAttributes (since only BLOB storage was used)

Today we have the ItemFields DataSource that allows you the same without re-naming your attributes.

SearchValue and EditValue

Those parameters are used throughout the DataSources and allow to configure how the VALUE column in the LookupRepository is filtered (when loading data) or filled (when saving/updating data).

They can now also be evaluated as Expressions.

Data Providers

For a complete list of all pre-installed Data Providers see Data Providers.

General Settings

Name

Allows you to define folder names by ExtraAttribute fields.

Example

{Field1} - {Field2}

ExtraAttributes Classification Plugin​

Setup​

Editors​

Common Attributes​

Common Name*​

Display Name​

Editor Type*​

Editor Parameters​

Data Source*​

ReadOnly*​

Required*​

Validation/Validation Properties​

Default Value​

Editor Types​

Lookup Repositories​

Columns​

SEQID​

PARENTSEQID​

VALUE​

Editors Advanced Topics​

Input Masks for Text / Numbers​

Outlook Contacts​

Grid Summary (Fulltext indexing)​

Expressions and the Expression Builder​

Boolean Expressions​

Text Expressions​

Required/Readonly Expressions​

Security based expression​

Example: Required Expression based on a Checkbox​

Setup​

Default Value​

Grid Control Button Bar​

Parameters​

Grid​

Clear​

Add​

Add Link​

Add Link​

Delete​

Export / E-Mail​

Grid Control Bar – AddLink Dialog​

Master/Details View​

Components​

Setup​

Multiple Selections​

Validation​

RegularExpressionValidationRule​

OnlineIBANValidationRule​

DateHigherThanValidationRule​

Localization​

Attribute’s DisplayName​

Layout​

Layout​

Empty​

CSV Layout​

XML Layout​

Layout Boxes Configuration​

Example: GroupBox visibility based on Checkbox​

Setup​

Layout​

Example CSV Layout​

Example Tab Layout​

Layout​

DataProviders and Sources​

Folder_* and Document_*​

SearchValue and EditValue​

Data Providers​

General Settings​

Name​

Example​

ExtraAttributes Classification Plugin

Setup

Editors

Common Attributes

Common Name*

Display Name

Editor Type*

Editor Parameters

Data Source*

ReadOnly*

Required*

Validation/Validation Properties

Default Value

Editor Types

Lookup Repositories

Columns

SEQID

PARENTSEQID

VALUE

Editors Advanced Topics

Input Masks for Text / Numbers

Outlook Contacts

Grid Summary (Fulltext indexing)

Expressions and the Expression Builder

Boolean Expressions

Text Expressions

Required/Readonly Expressions

Security based expression

Example: Required Expression based on a Checkbox

Setup

Default Value

Grid Control Button Bar

Parameters

Grid

Clear

Add

Add Link

Add Link

Delete

Export / E-Mail

Grid Control Bar – AddLink Dialog

Master/Details View

Components

Setup

Multiple Selections

Validation

RegularExpressionValidationRule

OnlineIBANValidationRule

DateHigherThanValidationRule

Localization

Attribute’s DisplayName

Layout

Layout

Empty

CSV Layout

XML Layout

Layout Boxes Configuration

Example: GroupBox visibility based on Checkbox

Setup

Layout

Example CSV Layout

Example Tab Layout

Layout

DataProviders and Sources

Folder_* and Document_*

SearchValue and EditValue

Data Providers

General Settings

Name

Example