Using date pickers in Formatted Grids

The cell to place the selected date. You can specify the cell using one of the following options:

• A full cell reference such as C22 or Report!C22
• A column letter such as C (where the row is the current row)
• A relative column location such as +3 or -3 from the current cell

For more information, see Referencing cells in content tag parameters.

The target cell cannot be the same cell that contains the DatePicker tag. The target cell can be anywhere in the spreadsheet and does not need to be visible within the formatted grid.

The selected date is written to the target cell as an Excel date/time serial number. Keep in mind that the date picker allows users to clear the date and return a blank value. If the selected date is being used in calculations and/or to drive other components in the form, make sure to construct the relationship to accommodate a possible blank value.

NOTES:  

• You must choose either TargetCell, FormState, or SharedVariable as the target of the tag. TargetCell is the default behavior and should be used unless the form is being specially designed for use with form state or shared variables.
• When using the Data Source Assistant / Tag Editor, you select either Cell, Form State, or Shared Variable as the Target and then complete the field as appropriate. Your selection will be automatically rendered as the correct parameter when the tag is written to the cell.

The key name for the value to be stored in the form state. For example, StartDate. The name must be unique. It is best to define a name that relates to the specific purpose of this date picker.

When a form state key name is defined, the user's selected date is not placed anywhere in the source file. Instead, it is stored in form state memory for the current file. If you need to reference the value within the form, you can use the GetFormState function to return the value into a cell.

The FormState parameter should only be used if the form is intended to be used as a dialog in the Excel Client or the Windows Client, and you need to be able to pass values from the form to the currently active spreadsheet. For more information, see Passing values between an Axiom form and the active client spreadsheet (form state).

The shared variable name to save the selected value as. For example, StartDate.

When a variable name is defined, the user's selected date is not placed anywhere in the source file. Instead, it is saved to the variable list that is stored in memory for the shared form instance. If you need to reference the value within the form, you can use the GetSharedVariable function to return the value into a cell.

The SharedVariable parameter should only be used if the form is intended to be used in an embedded form context (as either the parent form or a child form), and you need to share this value with other forms in the shared form instance. For more information, see Sharing variables between parent and child forms.

Specifies the type of date value for selection:

• Date: Users select specific dates from a calendar control. This is also the default behavior if no type is specified.
• Month: Users select a month and year combination from a drop-down selection.
• Year: Users select a year from a drop-down selection.

The type determines the values for selection and the display of the selected value in the control. However, the return value is always a full date. See Handling date formats for more information.

NOTE: When using the Data Source Assistant / Tag Editor, this option displays using the label Selection Type.

Optional. Specifies how interactive controls submit values back to the source file:

• Enabled: The control uses auto-submit behavior, regardless of whether the grid is set to auto-submit. Changed values are submitted as soon as they are changed.

• Disabled: The control does not use auto-submit behavior, regardless of whether the grid is set to auto-submit. Changed values are not submitted until another interactive control triggers a submit.

• Grid: The control honors the auto-submit behavior as configured for the grid.

If omitted, the default behavior is Grid.

Optional. Specify the earliest date that is valid for a user to select in the date picker. If specified, the calendar control will not allow the user to select a date that is earlier than this date.

You can enter a valid date, or you can use a bracketed cell reference to read the date from the referenced cell. This approach is useful if you want to dynamically determine the date, because then the formula can be in the referenced cell instead needing to construct the tag using a formula. For more information, see Referencing cells in content tag parameters.

When using the Data Source Assistant / Tag Editor, this parameter is labeled as Earliest Date. In this environment, you can use the Choose a date button [...] to open a calendar control and select a date, or you can type a date or a bracketed cell reference.

NOTE: If the earliest date can change using a formula, and the selected date is now invalid due to the changed earliest date, then the date picker will display as blank rather than showing the invalid date.

Optional. Specify the latest date that is valid for a user to enter into the date picker. If specified, the calendar control will not allow the user to select a date that is later than this date.

You can enter a valid date, or you can use a bracketed cell reference to read the date from the referenced cell. This approach is useful if you want to dynamically determine the date, because then the formula can be in the referenced cell instead needing to construct the tag using a formula. For more information, see Referencing cells in content tag parameters.

When using the Data Source Assistant / Tag Editor, this parameter is labeled as Latest Date. In this environment, you can use the Choose a date button [...] to open a calendar control and select a date, or you can type a date or a bracketed cell reference.

NOTE: If the latest date can change using a formula, and the selected date is now invalid due to the changed latest date, then the date picker will display as blank rather than showing the invalid date.

Optional. Specifies tooltip text to display when a user hovers the cursor over the cell contents.

Alternatively, you can use a bracketed cell reference to read the tooltip text from the referenced cell. This approach is useful if you want to dynamically determine the text, because then the formula can be in the referenced cell instead needing to construct the tag using a formula. For more information, see Referencing cells in content tag parameters.

Optional. Specifies whether the control is "active" (True/False). The default value, False, means that the control is active and that the user can select or clear a date as needed. If True, then the control becomes "frozen" and no further edits can be made. The control will display the current value of the target cell. This parameter can be used to control whether a user can edit the cell.

Generally speaking, this parameter would only be used within a formula to dynamically enable / disable the check box.

Optional. Specifies how many columns the cell contents will span in the grid.

If this parameter is omitted or set to 1, then content generated by the tag will only span the current column. If you want the content to span multiple columns, enter a number such as 2 to span 2 columns. The column span extends to the right.

NOTE: The row and column styles used in the grid impact how the column span displays. For example, if the content in the starting column is left-aligned and does not naturally exceed the width of the starting column, then the spanned columns will simply be blank because no content is extending to those columns. However, if the content is long enough to extend out of the starting column, or if the content has external borders (such as a text box), or if the content is center-aligned or right-aligned, then content will display in the spanned columns.