Creating Fields for Simple Lists or Tables

Lists of data (e.g., a list of dependent names) or tables containing rows and columns of data are perfect candidates for arrayed data. Each list or each column in a table contains one data array. Each element in the list contains one value in the array. The element is identified by an index.

For example, suppose Data ID 101 contains an array for a list of vehicles on an auto insurance form. Data ID 102 holds another list containing the model years:

Data ID 101 Data ID 102
(1) PT Cruiser (1) 2001
(2) Golf (2) 1997
(3) Lexus (3) 1999
(4) Caprice (4) 1985
(5) Mustang (5) 1975

PT Cruiser, the first value, has an index of 1, Golf has an index of 2, etc. Each item in the column is an element in the array. 2001 has an index of 1 and is the year for the PT Cruiser. 1997 is the year for the Golf and has an index of 2. The indexes in each list correspond.

On a form, the data might look like this:

All fields associated with Make would have data ID 101. All fields associated with Year would have data ID 102. You determine which value is placed in the field by assigning an index. In the above example, the fields in the first line would be assigned an index of 1, the second an index of 2, etc.

We call arrays of this type first-dimension arrays or one-dimensional arrays. A first-dimension array is nothing more than a “list” of data values. The data elements in a first-dimension array require one index. The index is the po­si­tion of the element in the array. Thus, an index of 1 references the first value, 2 references the second, etc.

Creating a data field list

Let’s start by creating a simple list. On your form, a list of dependents might look like this:

Each field will contain one element of the array.

To create a list of arrayed data fields

1. Draw your first data field.

2. Click on the Field tab and enter the following:

  • Data ID

  • Description

  • Number of Characters

  • Number of Lines

3. Click on the Object tab and define whatever font and formatting properties you want for the field.

4. Copy the data field to the clipboard. Then paste the data field in as many times as you want it to appear in the list.

5. Position and align the data fields on your form.

Hint:

Use the Distribute feature to space your fields equally.

Defining an arrayed field

After you create your data fields, you need to define them as arrayed data fields. To define a field as an arrayed data field, you need to enter the data dimension. One-dimensional arrays have a data dimension of 1. After you enter the data di­men­sion, you can assign an index to each field.

To define an arrayed field

1. Select all the data fields in your array.

2. Click on the Field tab in the property pane.

3. Click on the Data ID label to expose the Data Dimension property:

4. Click the in the Data Dimension value field once to enter a 1 and the Data Index 1 field will appear. 1 will be displayed as the default data index:

5. For each field in the array, do the following:

  • Click on the field on the form.

  • Enter the index in the Data Index 1 field, starting with 1 for the first field, 2 for the second, etc.:

When fields are defined as arrayed data, the data indexes will be displayed next to the data ID in the Data View tree:

Creating tables

Now that you know how to create a list of arrayed data fields, you can apply that concept to creating a table for arrayed data. A table that contains arrayed data is nothing more than sever­al lists of fields. A table of dependent names, ages, and social security numbers might look like this:

Each column is one data array. Each data field in the column contains one data element. Each row contains the data for one dependent. All data fields in a given row must have the same index.

The properties for the Dependent Name field in row 3 would look like this:

The properties for the Age field in row 3 would look like this:

The properties for the SS Number field in row 3 would look like this:

To create an arrayed table

1. Create the first row of your table. Each column should contain one data field for the table:

2. Give each data field in the row a dimension of 1.

3. Copy the row to the clipboard. Then paste it in once for each row in the table.

4. Create text boxes for table headers.

5. Position and align your data fields and table headers.

6. Draw lines to separate the cells in your table (optional).

7. Enter the data index for each field:

  • Select a row of fields. Then click on the Field tab to display the composite property page.

  • Click on the Data Index 1 field.

  • Enter the data index. All fields in the first row should have an index of 1. The fields in the second row should have an index of 2, etc.