Using Formatted Grid components

The Formatted Grid component provides the ability to display information in a grid structure within an Axiom form. While you can use this component for any purpose, the primary use cases are to:

Present report data in a form (web-enabled reports)
Present planning data and inputs in a form (web-enabled plan files)
Gather inputs from users to perform an action (web-enabled input forms and utilities)

Each Formatted Grid component in a form can look and act very differently depending on the format style used (spreadsheet or thematic), and depending on the features used within the grid.

In the Form Designer, the Formatted Grid component is available in the Form Controls section along the left-hand side of the screen.

The contents to be displayed in the Formatted Grid component are defined by placing a Grid data source in a sheet. You then populate the rows and columns of the data source with the information that you want to display in the grid.

In addition to displaying information from the spreadsheet, Formatted Grid components can be used in many different ways to support data inputs and other interactivity. For example, grids can be used as follows:

As selector tools, to change the form in some way based on the currently selected row in the grid.
As input grids, with controls such as text boxes, check boxes, and drop-down lists all presented directly within the cells of the grid.
As navigation tools, to present lists of hyperlinks to other files and forms.

Formatted Grid components also support special features, such as a full symbol library for use in grid cells, the ability to display sparkline charts and bullet charts inline with data, and the ability to export the grid data from the web to a spreadsheet file.

Because Formatted Grid components support so many features, it is possible to use a grid as the sole design element of an Axiom form and still provide full access to robust functionality. For example, an Axiom form could consist of just two components—an image (such as a logo) and a grid—where the grid contains all text, data, and interactive elements such as input cells, check boxes, drop-down lists, and buttons.