MachForm Community Forums » MachForm 2

1. Dapi
   Member

   I have been playing with MachForm for a while now, and I am very pleased. I am missing one thing that I (personally) would expect. Maybe I overlooked it, but I have been going through the software for quite a while now.

   I would like an option to create a form (Form-A), in which I enter data, and then create a new form (Form-B) in which I can use the data from Form-A. I'll give an example;

   1.- Form-A is used to input names of colors. Just one field. The colors go into the database.

   2.- Form-B has two fields. The first field can be used to type in a car brand (Toyota for example). The second field is a drop down list, and retrieves the values entered in Form-A.

   Even better would be the option to add a button on a form so the user (end-user) can be linked to a form to add values to a drop down list, in case the required value isn't provided. I'll give another example, based on my previous example;

   1.- Form-B has two fields. The first field can be used to type in a car brand and the second field is a drop down list, and retrieves the values entered in Form-A. Behind the field that lets the user select the color of the car, there is a button that links to Form-A (preferably in an Ajax "pop-up"), and lets the user add an additional color in case the required color isn't provided.

   2.- Form-A shows the field where the color can be entered, and it (Ajax) dynamically inserts into the drop down box of Form-B, so that the page won't have to be reloaded, preventing loss of entered data.

   I can think of numerous of purposed and scenarios that would welcome this functionality. Right now the only way I can achieve this is by writing my own PHP scripts, and it involves copying data from one table (form) to another table (form). Having duplicates of data within a database isn't exactly efficient and it means data will have to be copied back and forth every time it is updated. It also means I would end up modifying existing scripts, which is undesirable since every update of the software would overwrite my adjustments.

   Posted 16 years ago #
2. 

   yuniar

   Hi Dapi,

   Thanks for the detailed suggestion. That's quite comprehensive feature request.
   I must say that the feature seems to be pretty specific and advanced enough.

   Our aim is to make MachForm as simple as possible, so everyone could use it easily.
   So, I'm not sure if we could implement this one in the future.

   Thanks for the idea though, we'll keep an eye on this, in case somebody else need the same functionality.

   ---

   MachForm Founder

   Posted 16 years ago #

3. Dapi
   Member

   You are very welcome.

   I looked through the tables and the structures in the database, and I think it's quite possible to create this functionality. It's going to be quite a bit of work though. On the other hand, if you're using a database, why not use it to its fullest. But I do realize that features like the ones I suggested would not be realistic to build, if it would only be for one person. Maybe I'll give it a shot myself, if I get the time for it.

   For now I'm just playing around with the software. I guess what I miss the most is a layer which enables you to access data and give access to data, within the software. Apart from that, I am pretty impressed with the ease and functionality of it all. So,.. big compliments. Keep up the good work.

   Posted 16 years ago #

4. Dapi
   Member

   I've been able to generate what I wanted. I had to severely molest the original code though, and it turned into one big unreadable mess. But it does the trick. Since no one else has shown interest in this I don't think I'll clean up the 'mess" inside the code since that will take ages to do, and I'm short on time.

   But it is possible if you're willing to use data entered in "Field-A", into "Field-B". If you want to do so have a look at how data is saved into the database. After submitting run your own (php) script to copy that data to a new table so you can access it using your own custom form field.

   I've decided to step away from the Machform software, since I'd have to dig too deep to incorporate the functionality that I want, and I'd have to adjust too much code. I think it's easier to write my own forms/code. It's been really interesting to see how you guys build this software though. Well done.

   Posted 15 years ago #

5. Gottaloveit
   Member

   I just started with Machform and I think this would be a great add. You can sum it up by adding a customized dropdown field, called "lookup" or something. All it would do is bind a datasource to it. Examples would be Country List, US States / Counties / Cities. So, the value of the dropdown (id) would be stored in the form, and the display value of the dropdown would be shown.

   Posted 15 years ago #

6. daemianmack
   Member

   This would be a great feature, and is basically a must-have for a project I'm working on. I'd love it if this functionality were available in MachForm -- even if it meant upgrading to MachForm Pro or similar.

   Any interest in looking into this again?

   Posted 15 years ago #

7. jmsilvav
   Member

   Hi, I just buy MachForm and it's really a great tool. Nevertheless, I'm also looking for a functionality like that (User selects DropDown A and with that selection DropDown B populates). So If someone has done that before, I really would appreciate it. My english is not very fluent, so I hope you understands. Thanks.

   Posted 15 years ago #

8. Josh
   Member

   I have successfully done this, and have detailed my work in the thread: http://www.appnitro.com/forums/topic/populating-a-drop-down-list-with-data-from-mysqlphp

   Posted 15 years ago #

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