A server behavior is a reusable component for server-side development.
They add blocks of code to your pages for accomplishing specific tasks.
Dreamweaver comes with several default server behaviors and the InterAKT
extensions add many more to this list.
A database refers to data organized and stored on a computer that can
be searched and retrieved by a computer program. Most industrial-strength
and many smaller database applications can be addressed using SQL (Structured
Query
Language).
A query is a SQL command that will extract information from the tables
of a database. Essentially, a query is a request for information from
your database.
The redirect server behavior loads a new site page after a transaction
is executed. For instance, users could be automatically redirected to
their inbox after they log in to the website.
A trigger is a SQL procedure that performs an action when a transaction
(INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE) occurs. You can use triggers to perform validation
of input data, to automatically generate a value for a newly inserted
row, to read from other tables for cross-referencing purposes, or to support
alerts through e-mail messages.
Insert Record Form Wizard
The basic building blocks of an insert page can be added in a single
operation using the Insert Record Form Wizard.
The wizard adds an HTML form and a Insert Transaction server behavior
to your page. The form objects are laid out in a basic table, which you
can customize by using the Dreamweaver page
design tools (make sure all the form objects remain within the form’s
boundaries). To edit the server behavior, display the Server
Behaviors list (Window -> Server Behaviors) and double-click on the Insert Transaction serverbehavior.
You can also add the building blocks separately by using the form tools
and the Server Behaviors tab of the Application panel. For more information on building
an insert page in multiple steps, see Insert Record Transaction.
The Insert Record Form Wizard is accessible
from two locations:
The MX Kollection tab
of the Insert bar.
The Application panel,
Server Behaviors -> + -> MX Kollection ->
Forms -> Insert Record Form Wizard.
The purpose of this wizard is to build a page that enables users to
insert new records in a database
table. This wizard is divided into two compulsory steps, based on the
type of data the user has to input. If MX Form
Validation has been installed, an additional step will need to
be completed. This new step consists of defining the validation rules
for all fields included in the generated form.
To build the insert page with the Insert Record
Form Wizard, follow the next instructions:
Open the page in Design view,
and then apply the Insert Record Form Wizard.
A dialog box appears.
The first step into completing the dialog box requires the user to input
basic information about the transaction, like the table in which new records
will be inserted and the page to which it will be redirected:
To set the dialog box options, follow the next steps:
In the Connection drop-down
menu select the database connection defined for your site; if you don't
have a connection yet, you can use the Define
button and create one now.
In the Insert into table
drop-down menu, select the database table where you want to insert records;
In the Primary key column
drop-down menu specify the primary key column for the current table. The
content of this drop-down menu is refreshed each time the user changes
the table for the insert operation. By default, the first element is selected.
The Numeric checkbox
specifies whether the selected Primary key column
has a numeric type (integer, double, etc). The state for this checkbox
is altered each time the user changes the selected value of the Primary key column according to the meta-data retrieved
by Dreamweaver for the specified table column.
In the After inserting, go
to text box enter the page to be opened after the record is inserted
into the table, click the Browse button
to select the file page or use the InterAKT
Dynamic Data (the lighting bolt icon) to build the file name.
The five buttons in the lower part of the interface
offer the following functionalities:
· With the
< Back / Next
> buttons you can navigate through the wizard's steps.
· Click Finish when you are done configuring the wizard.
· Click Cancel to exit without the new settings to be
applied.
· The Help button brings you to this help page.
These buttons appear on all three interfaces of the Insert
Record Form Wizard.
Click Next to continue
with configuring the wizard.
Fields information
This dialog box allows you to define exactly which fields get which
data and where they get it from. This is where you will determine how
an input for a specific field will be displayed as:
To set the dialog box options, follow the next steps:
In the Form fields area
specify the form objects you want to include on the HTML
form of the insert page, and which columns in your database table
each form object should update.
By default, ImpAKT3 creates a form object
for each column in the database table. If your database automatically
generates primary key ID's for each new record created, remove the form
object corresponding to the primary key column by selecting it in the
list and clicking the Minus (-)
button. This eliminates the risk of the user entering an ID value that
already exists.
Use the Plus (+)
button to add form fields to the current transaction.
You can also change the order of the form objects on the HTML
form by selecting a form object in the list and clicking the up
and down arrows on the right top side of the dialog box.
Specify how each
data-entry field should be displayed in the HTML
form by selecting a row (single click) in the Form
fields area and entering information in the boxes below the grid
as indicated below.
In the Label text box
enter a descriptive label to display beside the data-entry field. By default,
the column’s 'generic name' is displayed (MX Kollection
3 removes the part in the column name that starts with "_"
and capitalizes the first part).
In
the Display as drop-down menu select a form
object to serve as the data-entry field. You can select from the following
list: Text field, Text area, Menu, Hidden field, Checkbox, Radio group,
Password field, Text, File field. Depending on your selection, the interface
changes:
1.Text field
- if you select this option, the following interface fields will be displayed:
· In the
Submit as drop-down menu select
the data format accepted by your database table. For example, if the table
column only accepts numeric data, select Numeric. The available options
are: Text, Numeric, Double, Date.
Note: If you are using a Microsoft Access database, in the Submit
as drop-down menu, another option will be available: Date MS Access. Select
this option when submitting date fields.
· In the
Default value text box specify
the default value for the selected table column. You can use the
InterAKT Dynamic Data (the
lighting bolt icon) to build the default value.
2.Text area
- if you select this option, the interface displayed is similar to the
one corresponding to the Text field
option.
3.Menu - if
you select this option, the following interface fields will be displayed:
· In the
Submit as drop-down menu select
the data format accepted by your database table. The available options
are: Text, Numeric, Double, Date.
· If the
case, use the Add Recordset
button to create a recordset from which the menu should retrieve data
later on:
· Click on
the Menu Properties button
to populate the menu items. You can this dynamically, by using a recordset,
or statically (manually):
4.Hidden field
- if you select this option, the interface displayed is similar to the
one corresponding to the Text field
option. There is a difference though, namely the fact that the Label text box is now disabled, given the
fact that the field is hidden.
Note: Hidden fields are inserted at the end of the form.
5.Checkbox
- if you select this option, the following interface fields will be displayed:
· In the
Submit as drop-down menu select
the available option that fits your needs the best: Checkbox:
Y,N; Checkbox: 1,0;
Checkbox:-1,0.
· In the
Initial State radio group select
whether or not you want the control to be checked by default or not.
6.Radio group
- if you select this option, the following interface fields will be displayed:
· In the
Submit as drop-down menu select
the data format accepted by your database table. The available options
are: Text, Numeric, Double, Date.
· By clicking
the Radio Group Properties
button you can set all the available options that you need for you radio
group:
7.Password field
- if you select this option, the interface displayed is similar to the
one corresponding to the Text field
option.
8.Text - if
you select this option, the interface displayed is similar to the one
corresponding to the Text field
option.
Note: For read-only entries, select Text.
9.File field
- if you select this option, the following interface fields will be displayed:
· In the
Submit as drop-down menu there
is only one available option: File.
You can use the Back
button to alter the table and redirect
information. If you do not wish to validate the user input, you can click
on Finish to add the Insert
Record elements to the page. If you want to go to the third and
last step of the wizard, click Next.
Form validation
rules
This last step of the wizard configures the validation rules for each
of the form input fields. You can define a rule for each form element,
so that bad input will be avoided:
Remember that this step appears only if you have the whole MX
Kollection 3 package installed, or even only MX
Form Validation. In this case, a MX Form
Validation trigger,
with a validation role, will be added to your page.