Insert form controls

Connected and unconnected data fields

Usually, users enter data about their projects through form controls, such as text boxes, drop-down lists, or data pickers. In forms, some data is connected and some is unconnected. When a user enters a value in a form control that is connected to a data field, the value is stored in the project and can be shared. When a user enters a value in a form control that is not connected to a data field, the value is stored in the form and cannot be shared.

For example, Project Name is a connected data field. If a user enters a project name in one form, the project name is updated in all forms that contain the Project Name data field. Additionally, if a user deletes a form that contains Project Name, the project's name is still available in other forms because its value is stored in the project, not in the form. By contrast, Prepared Date is an unconnected data field. In this case, the date a form is prepared is only relevant to the form, not the entire project. Therefore, if a user deletes a form that contains an unconnected data field, such as Prepared Date, the data value is deleted, too.

Insert a form control that is connected to data field

When you connect a form control to a data field, the data values are shared across tools, forms, and projects.

1. In Design mode, select the location on the form where you want to insert the form control.
2. On the Form menu, select a form control. For help on how to choose the appropriate form control, go to Types of form controls.
3. After you place the control on the form in Design mode, double-click it.
4. Select Connect the form control to a data field, then select Select Data Field.
5. In the Data Connection Setup dialog box, expand the category of your choice and choose the data field to connect the form control to. For example, to connect a Text Box control to the Project Leader data field, expand the Team Roles category.
6. Select OK in each dialog box.

Only single-value data fields can be connected to a form control outside of a data-entry table. To connect data fields that belong to data tables, go to Insert data-entry tables.

Insert a form control that is not connected to a data field

When you do not connect a form control to a data field, the data values are not shared across tools, forms, or projects.

1. In Design mode, select the location on the form where you want to insert the form control.
2. On the Form menu, select a form control. For help on how to choose the appropriate form control, go to Types of form controls.
3. After you place the control on the form in Design mode, double-click it.
4. In the form control dialog box, select Do not connect the form control to a data field.
5. Complete the dialog box to format the form control, then select OK.