Access
To insert an Autosuggest object, you must either:
Choose the Adelia Web Studio Objects/Autosuggest option in the Insert menu in the Macromedia Dreamweaver window.
Click the
button in Dreamweaver's Adelia object insertion bar.
To better understand this object's graphical features, we recommend that you study the examples provided in the Adelia knowledge base (in the WEB_EXAMPLE application area of the BDCADEL environment).
This dialog box lets you specify the attributes of the Autosuggest object.
General
Name
Adelia guide word of the field.
Mode of use
Mode of association of the associated results list.
In combo box mode, the associated list is displayed as a single-column list. This list cannot be directly laid out in Dreamweaver (similar to the COMBO object). In terms of 4GL code, the Autosuggest object provides the properties VALUE, CURRENT_VALUE and LIST. It can be manipulated in the same manner as a COMBO BOX.
In Table list mode, the object is associated with a TABLE LIST. Results rendering is linked to the rendering of this object (table with header, cell rendering according to the Adelia object types comprising the list's columns, etc.). Visually, the results list can be displayed in multi-column format.
In terms of 4GL code, the Autosuggest object provides only the VALUE property. The LIST property does not exist in this mode, as the object is based on the list of the associated TABLE LIST object. To determine the values associated with the VALUE property, the user must select a "value" column amongst the columns making up the TABLE LIST.
Possible values:
- Combo box,
- Table list.
Rendering the associated list
Displays in the layout manager (in Design mode) the graphical representation of the associated results list.
Checked |
If the object is in Combo box mode, then the results list is drawn below the entry field, in the Dreamweaver® Design mode window. If the object is in Table List mode, then the associated Table List object is draw in the Dreamweaver® Design mode window. |
Adelia value type
Adelia field type.
If the object does not support a value-related text, the only possible value is Alphanumeric.
If the object supports a value-related text, the possible values are:
Alphanumeric,
Short binary,
Long binary,
Packed,
Date,
Extended,
Time,
Timestamp.
Adelia value-related text type
Adelia field type if the object supports a value-related text. The only possible value is Alphanumeric.
Criterion
Results list element calculation criterion.
Possible values:
- starts with: an element is present in the results list if the text entered by the user is a prefix of this element's value.
- ends with: an element is present in the results list if the text entered by the user is a suffix of this element's value.
- contains: an element is present in the value list if the text entered by the user is a sub-string of this element's value.
Value-related text support
Checked |
The object supports a value-related text. The results list contains value/value-related text pairs. The selection criterion applies to the value-related texts of the list elements. Moreover, the text entered by the user in the entry field must be a value-related text. |
Unchecked |
The object does not support a value-related text. The results list contains values. The selection criterion applies to the values of the list elements. Moreover, the text entered by the user in the entry field must be a value. |
Associated Table list
List of the TABLE LIST objects present in the layout and compatible with the Autosuggest object.
The following objects are excluded:
- with a pitch (dynamic pagination),
- with a number of lines per element greater than 1,
- with no columns whose Adelia type is compatible with those supported by the Autosuggest object.
When a TABLE LIST object is selected, you can choose amongst the list's column objects, the "value" column and the "value-related text" column.
In the Autosuggest object's property inspector, the button 
refreshes the selected TABLE LIST object's list of columns, if their characteristics have been modified.
Extreme case value
When the object supports a value-related text, value to assign to its VALUE property when:
- the results list is empty,
- no element is selected in the results list,
- the entry field is blank,
- the user entered a value into the entry field before the results list was displayed.
The possible values are:
- *LOVAL,
- *HIVAL,
- *BLANK,
- A user value.
Cache size
Maximum number of results list elements that can be stored in the object cache. As long as the maximum number of lines received is not exceeded, the object stored the query result in its cache. If the size of a new query, added to those already stored, exceeds this authorized maximum, then the object does not store the result of this query in its cache.
A value of 0 disables cache management.
Styles
Enabled
Checked |
The Autosuggest object is enabled. |
Unchecked |
The Autosuggest object is disabled. No text can be typed into the entry field. |
Read only
Checked |
The entry field is in "read only" mode and the user cannot enter any values. |
Mandatory
Checked |
Lets you define a required field. If the form is submitted and no value has been entered, an error is detected. |
Highlight first element
Checked |
Highlights the first element in the results list when displayed. By default, the highlighted element has predefined background and text colors (values defined by the AWSAutosuggestHighlight CSS class). You can specify a different CSS class. |
Propose input
Checked |
Displays the first element of the results list in the entry field, selecting the sub-string that remains to be typed. This feature is only allowed if first element highlighting is enabled. |
Case-sensitive
Checked |
The selection criterion is case-sensitive, i.e. upper case characters are distinguished from lower case characters when calculating the results list. |
Accent-sensitive
Checked |
The selection criterion is accent-sensitive, i.e. accented characters are distinguished from non-accented characters when calculating the results list. |
Note on localization: When the object is not accent-sensitive, it converts accented characters to their non-accented equivalents. This equivalence is supported for French (language code: ISO-639 'fr'), Italian (language code: ISO-639 'it'), Spanish (language code: ISO-639 'es'), and German (language code: ISO-639 'de'),
To offer support for another language, you must describe this equivalence in a file named 'AWSTagLibAutosuggestBundle_XX.properties', where XX represents the ISO-639 language code. This file should be placed in the AWSResources sub-directory of the directory containing the Web application. Moreover, it must be encoded in ISO-8859-1 (or Latin-1) format.
Each match between a character and the associated accented characters must be defined as follows (one match per line in the file):
DIACRITIC_CHAR_<INCR>=<CHAR_WHITHOUT_ACCENT>-<CHAR_WITH_ACCENT_1>-<CHAR_WITH_ACCENT_2>-….-<CHAR_WITH_ACCENT_N>
Where:
- <INCR> is a number starting at 1 and incremented for each line,
- <CHAR_WITHOUT_ACCENT> is the non-accented character in lower case,
- <CHAR_WITH_ACCENT_N> are the accented characters in lower case matching <CHAR_WITHOUT_ACCENT>.
If a character is not defined in the ISO-8859-1 encoding table, it must be written using its value in the Unicode encoding table as follows:
'\uXXXX'
where XXXX corresponds to the character's hexadecimal value in the Unicode encoding table (e.g.: the € character is converted to '\u20AC').
Forced selection
Checked |
Forces the user to select an element from the results list. If the user enters a string that does not match any values, the contents of the entry field are deleted when it loses focus. |
Minimum number of characters
Checked |
Minimum number of characters entered by the user beyond which the object triggers a request for result values. |
Maximum number of results
Checked |
Maximum number of result values returned. This property prevents excessive numbers of results. If this number is set to "All", all possible values are returned. If this number is possible, then a text indicating that there are other values is shown at the bottom of the results list. Clicking this text displays the other results by triggering an ONSUGGEST event. This text can be internationalized. For this, you must define a value for the MORE_ELT_SHORT_TEXT and MORE_ELT_TOOLTIP keys in a file named "AWSTagLibAutosuggestBundle_XX.properties".
This property is only supported in automatic results list calculation mode. In manual mode, the user is responsible for limiting the number of elements present in the results list according to this value. Moreover, he/she must manage the text click, indicating that there are other values via the MORE_ELEMENTS and KEY_LAST_ELEMENT properties. |
List styles
Width
Width for displaying the results list. This width is defined by a value followed by a unit (e.g.: "120px", "200em").
Height
Maximum height for displaying the results list. This height is defined by a value followed by a unit (e.g.: "120px", "200em"). When the actual list height is greater than its maximum height, then a vertical scrollbar is displayed to the right of the list elements.
Visual effect
Defines the results list appearance visual effect. This property is only supported by the Internet Explorer browser.
Possible values:
None |
The list is displayed instantly. |
Fade in |
The list is displayed gradually, with a fade-in effect. |
Pixelate |
The list is displayed gradually, with a pixellation effect. |
Dissolve |
The list is displayed gradually, with a dissolve effect. |
Wipe down |
The list is displayed gradually, with a downward wipe effect. |
Wipe right |
The list is displayed gradually, with a left-to-right wipe effect. |
Drop shadow
Checked |
Defines a drop shadow for the results list. |
List CSS class
Defines the CSS class style for the results list.
Highlight CSS class
Defines the CSS class used to distinguish the selected element in the results list.
Element CSS class
Defines the CSS style class used to display each element in the results list. This class is only used when the Autosuggest object is in combo mode.
Header
Defines a results list header value-related text. This header can either be a text, or an HTML fragment. It is displayed above the first element in the results list.
Footer
Defines a results list footer value-related text. This footer can either be a text, or an HTML fragment. It is displayed at the bottom of the results list.
Context-sensitive menu
Menu name
Associates a context-sensitive menu with the object. It is possible to associate multiple Adelia objects with the same Menu object (the Menu object's SOURCE_OBJ property, when used in the event processing block of a menu or menu, identifies the Adelia object for which the user has opened the menu).
Event
Specifies the Javascript event that will cause the associated context-sensitive menu to open.
Possible values:
onclick |
Causes the menu to open when the user clicks the control. |
oncontextmenu |
Causes the menu to open when the user right-clicks the control. By default, the browser opens a system menu when this event is triggered. To display the system menu instead of the Adelia menu, press the Ctrl key while right-clicking. |
onmousedown |
Causes the menu to open when the user presses down the left mouse button over the control. |
onmouseover |
Causes the menu to open when the user moves the mouse pointer over the control. |
onmouseup |
Causes the menu to open when the user releases the left mouse button over the control. |
Note: For the sake of ergonomics, when the Javascript event that opens a menu is based on a mouse click (oncontextmenu, onclick, onmousedown or onmouseup), the "Close by clicking on page background" property defined during the layout design of the Menu object should be enabled.
This property should be disabled when the Javascript event is based on a mouse movement (onmouseover).
Events
OnSuggest
Checked |
An Adelia event processing block is assigned to the results list calculation request. In the associated event processing block, the VALUE and TEXT_VALUE (if the object supports a value-related text) properties are updated. The 4GL code associated with the event processing block is only run if the AUTOMATIC_MODE property is set to *FALSE. Important: This event MUST be an AJAX event. |
Note: adding an OnSuggest event processing block to an Autosuggest object named ASG_1 creates, in the 4GL source, when the HTML page is saved, an ASG_1:ONSUGGEST event block nested in the ASG_1 object block, which is itself nested in the EVENT MANAGEMENT block.
OnSelect
Checked |
An Adelia event processing block is assigned to user selection of an element in the results list. The event processing block can be either an Adelia event (which may or may not validate the form) or a JavaScript expression. In the associated event processing block, the VALUE and TEXT_VALUE (if the object supports a value-related text) properties are updated. |
The following events can be configured:
Type
Defines the type of event.
Possible values:
Event |
Defines an event with validation. |
Event without validation |
Defines an event with no associated verification of HTML page validity. Any Adelia variables linked with the graphical objects on the page are not updated. |
Upload event |
Defines an event with validation that, additionally, triggers the uploading of the selected files via an Upload object. |
AJAX
Checked |
Defines an AJAX event. |
Click here for more information about the Adelia event processing blocks.
AJAX parameters
Asynchronous
Checked |
Defines an asynchronous AJAX event. An asynchronous event does not block the user interface. The interface continues to respond while the event is processed on the Web application server. |
Behavior
Defines the strategy followed in the event of simultaneous execution requests for the event.
Possible values:
Different event |
Proceeds as for two different events and follows the rule defined for different queries (cf. SIMULTANEOUS_DIFFERENT_REQUESTS_RULE in Parameters of the AWSAjax.properties file). |
Previous event canceled |
Cancels the previous event (physically breaking the HTTP connection if the previous event is running, or removing it from the queue if it is pending execution). |
Event canceled |
Ignores the second event, regardless of the state of the first event (i.e. running or pending). |
Timer
Defines the wait time between successive executions of the same event. The presence of a value in this field indicates that the event is cyclical: once executed, it is automatically repeated indefinitely.
The possible unit values are:
- Millisec. for milli-seconds,
- Second,
- Minute,
- Hour.
This value must not exceed the life of an HTTP session (as specified in the file web.xml).
Priority
Sets an event's priority when it is placed in the queue. This priority defines the order of execution of the events in the queue.
This value must be between REQUEST_MIN_PRIORITY and REQUEST_MAX_PRIORITY.
If this field is left blank, the priority is set to REQUEST_DEFAULT_PRIORITY (refer to these values in Parameters of the AWSAjax.properties file).
Invisible
Hides the progress bar when this event is triggered.
This parameter is only processed if PROGRESS_INDICATOR_SHOW_ALL_STARTED_REQUEST is set to "N".