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Forms Item: Drop-down

Important

Information and features vary according to the roles to which you belong and the permissions associated with those roles. For more information, contact your module manager or your campus support team.

The Drop-down question type lets form completers select an answer from several choices. This question type is ideal for presenting a long list of options without cluttering the form.

Tip

You can use rules to control if anything happens when the form completer selects a particular date. For example, the form completer selects their high school graduation date. If they pick a date in the next six months, you could show them additional form questions related to their test scores and intended field of study. If they pick a date a year from now, you could show them additional questions about when they'd like to attend a campus open house.

This topic explains how to add and configure drop-down options in J1 Web Forms, including how functionality differs from Campus Portal Forms.

Some options available in Campus Portal Forms are handled differently or are not available in J1 Web Forms.

Campus Portal Forms

J1 Web Forms

Definition

Text Position

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Grid

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Grid Function

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Settings

Font Size

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Input control CSS classes

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Include in Report Grid

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Add Double Value to Final Balance

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Multiply Balance by Double Value

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Map to Payment Field

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Help Info Text

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Map to J1 Web Event Field

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Options

Randomize options

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Rules

Alert: Show Message

Associate with a workflow that includes an automation plan with a notification interaction.

Email: Cancel

Associate with a workflow that includes an automation plan with a cancel email interaction.

Email: Send

Associate with a workflow that includes an automation plan with a send email interaction,

Form: Print

Unavailable at this time. Workaround: Reviewer can print a copy of the submission PDF.

Form: Quit

Unavailable at this time.

Form: Save

Unavailable at this time.

Grid: Add

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Payment: Clear Profile

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Payment: Override Balance

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Payment: Use Profile

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Workflow: Add to track queue

J1 Workflow: Add Workflow for Submission

Workflow: Remove from track queue

J1 Workflow: Remove Workflow for Submission

Workflow: Set track

N/A

Look Up

Look Up DataSource

Unavailable in J1 Web.

Execute on Load, Trigger after set, Preserver user input

Unavailable in J1 Web.

How To

  1. Access the Connect, Forms, Manage Forms page.

  2. Find the form you're updating and from the Actions menu, select Edit form.

  3. From the Build step, select the tab where you want to add the drop-down.

  4. Click Add Item. The New Item pop-up window appears.

  5. In the Unique ID field, enter an identifier for the drop-down.

  6. From the Type drop-down list, select Drop-down.

  7. Select the appropriate label display option: Display on the form or Screen reader only.

  8. In the Text field, enter and format the label you want to use to describe the drop-down.

  9. If you are adding this drop-down to a group, enter the name in the Group field. Each item in the group must use the same group name.

  10. Select the Settings tab.

  11. Use the Alignment options to move the question to the center or right.

  12. Enter the Width and Height you want the question to be.

    Note

    You can use percentages (e.g., 50%) or pixel/point values (e.g., 50px).

  13. Configure attributes:

    1. Required : completers must select at least one option.

    2. Read Only: visible but not editable.

    3.  Show Only in Report: visible only in report view.

  14. Enter a Default Value if you want a specific selection when the user access the drop-down.

  15. Click the Options tab.

  16. Select Static Options or Dynamic Options.

    • Static options are manually entered and do not vary.

    • Dynamic options are based on data sets and can vary.

  17. If you selected Static Options, click Add and enter each option value. You can add as many options as you want.

  18. If you selected Dynamic Options, select an Options Source from the drop-down.

    Note

    You can select from Data Dictionaries data sets classified as Form Options.

  19. Select the Rules tab to define what happens when the form completer selects a drop-down.

  20. Click Add.

  21. In the first drop-down, select the If answer value is condition.

    Note

    Rules must always begin with this condition. This tells J1 Web Forms to execute the action if the user's answer matches the answer value you specify.

  22. In the answer value field to the right of the drop-down, enter the answer value that will trigger the action.

  23. In the second drop-down, select the action to perform. For example, to show or hide other options.

  24. If needed, click Add to add another rule.

    • Else if answer value is executes the action if the answer value matches.

    • Else executes the action if no previous conditions were met.

    • And executes the action in addition to the previous action.

  25. From the Look Up Data Source drop-down, select

    Note

    You can select from Data Dictionaries data sets classified as Form Lookup.

  26. Click Update.

  1. Access the Core, Campus-wide Definitions, Data Sets page.

  2. From the Queries for drop-down, select Data Dictionaries.

  3. Click Create data set.

  4. From the Classification drop-down, select Form Options.

  5. From the Select Modules Allowed Access to Data Set drop-down, select the modules that should be able to use the data set. Anyone in a role with access to a selected module can see and use it.

  6. From the Type drop-down, select InfoMaker or SQL File.

  7. If you select InfoMaker:

    1. From the PBL drop-down, select the InfoMaker PBL file.

    2. From the Query drop-down, select the query you want to use.

  8. If you select SQL file:

    Note

    SQL files cannot be edited in J1 Web. Once the file is uploaded, the query fields cannot be changed; however, you can download the query syntax, make changes, and then upload it as a new data set.

    Tip

    Sample SQL returns a list of states from the J1 database:

    SELECT RTRIM(VALUE), 

    DESCRIPTION FROM TD_STATE_VIEW

    1. Test the query in SQL Server Management Studio before uploading to ensure it runs within 4-5 seconds. Poorly performing queries will impact system performance.

    2. Click Choose File and upload the SQL file..

    3. If the file passes validation, the Create data set button is enabled.

  9. Click Create data set. The Create Data Set window closes, and the data set is listed on the Data Sets page.