AX1059

Collecting values for the plan code table when creating an on-demand plan file

When a user creates a new plan file for an on-demand file group, a new record is automatically generated for that file in the plan code table. By default, only one column in this new record is populated with a non-default value: the identity key column, which contains the automatically generated ID number.

In many cases, you may have other columns in the table that need to be populated with non-default values when the new record is created, such as:

Validated columns. For example, the plan code table could contain a column Dept that has a lookup assignment of Dept.Dept. When the new record is created, most likely you want the user to select a department (or you want to determine the appropriate department using a formula). If no value is specified when creating the new record, the default value for the column will be used. The specified or default value must be valid in the context of the assigned lookup column.
Alternate key columns. Alternate key columns must be populated with a unique value for each record.
Template assignment column. If the file group has an assigned Template column, then this column must be populated when the new record is created.
Any other columns used to drive system settings or processes, such as columns for process ownership or security filters. In many cases these columns must be populated when the record is created, or else the associated feature will not work as expected and plan file creation may fail.

Options to collect starting values

There are several ways to apply these starting values, depending on the environment used to create new plan files:

Environment	Options
Desktop Client (Excel Client or Windows Client)	By default, Axiom Software will automatically prompt the user to select values for any validated columns and alternate key columns in the plan code table. If a Template column has been specified for the file group, the user will also be prompted to select a template. This is built-in functionality that requires no additional setup. However, when using the built-in dialog, it is not possible to add other columns to the dialog or to omit certain validated columns. If you need to collect values for other columns, or if you just want greater control over the design of the dialog that is presented to end users, then you can create an Axiom form to serve as the "input form" for the plan file creation process. This form can be configured to collect all values that need to be passed along to the plan code table using the Add Plan File command. If this form is specified as the Add File Form in the file group properties, then when the user creates a new plan file this form will be displayed as a "dialog" to gather the user inputs, instead of the built-in prompt. For more information, see Using an Axiom form as an "add file" dialog for an on-demand file group.
Web Client	This environment does not have any built-in functionality to prompt for column values. You must design an Axiom form to serve as the "input form" for the plan file creation process. This form can be configured to collect all values that need to be passed along to the plan code table using the Add Plan File command. For more information on how to create this type of form, see Creating new on-demand plan files using an Axiom form.

Environment

Options

Desktop Client
(Excel Client or
Windows Client)

By default, Axiom Software will automatically prompt the user to select values for any validated columns and alternate key columns in the plan code table. If a Template column has been specified for the file group, the user will also be prompted to select a template. This is built-in functionality that requires no additional setup. However, when using the built-in dialog, it is not possible to add other columns to the dialog or to omit certain validated columns.
If you need to collect values for other columns, or if you just want greater control over the design of the dialog that is presented to end users, then you can create an Axiom form to serve as the "input form" for the plan file creation process. This form can be configured to collect all values that need to be passed along to the plan code table using the Add Plan File command. If this form is specified as the Add File Form in the file group properties, then when the user creates a new plan file this form will be displayed as a "dialog" to gather the user inputs, instead of the built-in prompt. For more information, see Using an Axiom form as an "add file" dialog for an on-demand file group.

Web Client

This environment does not have any built-in functionality to prompt for column values. You must design an Axiom form to serve as the "input form" for the plan file creation process. This form can be configured to collect all values that need to be passed along to the plan code table using the Add Plan File command. For more information on how to create this type of form, see Creating new on-demand plan files using an Axiom form.

For more details on the user experience for these environments, see How end users work with on-demand plan files.

For example, imagine that the on-demand file group is for creating capital planning requests, and you want all users to specify a department to associate with the request. You create a validated column named Dept in the plan code table, and you assign that column to a lookup column of Dept.Dept.

When Axiom Software creates a new record in the plan code table as part of the "add plan file" process, it must have a valid value to place in that Dept column.

If you are using the built-in dialog in the Desktop Client, Axiom Software will automatically prompt the user to select a department. That department will then be used when creating the new record.
If you are using an Axiom form (in any client), then the form designer can configure the form to pass a department value to the "add plan file" process. The form can prompt the user to select a department for this purpose, or the appropriate department can be derived using some logic in the source file for the form. The form designer can also choose to omit the Dept column from the "add plan file" process, in which case the column's default value will be used (as defined in the column properties).

Now imagine the same scenario, except this time the plan code table also has a non-validated column named Owner that you want to use for security filters. The column used for security filters must be populated when the record is created, or else the user will not be able to create or open the new plan file because the current blank value in the column does not meet the user's security filter (see Security considerations for on-demand file groups). In this case, for all user environments you must use an Axiom form to create the plan file. The built-in dialog cannot be used, because there is no way to customize this dialog to add the non-validated Owner column.