Custom Field Type: Select One - Dropdown List

General Description

Displays as a set of values in a dropdown list. The user can select a single value.

Field Illustrated

Setting the values for the Select One - Dropdown List, in Custom Field Settings



Select One - Dropdown List, in Edit Mode



Select One - Dropdown List, in View Mode

Field Options

Option	Description	Format
Custom Field ID	The unique ID number associated with the custom field.	Not Applicable
Field Type	The list of available Field Types.	@fieldtype@
Field Name	The name of the field, used internally to reference the user's input;	@fieldname@
Caption	The leading question or prologue before the field.	@caption@
Display Order	The order (relative to other fields) in which this field is displayed.	@displayorder@
Description	Definition and general description of the custom field. Will not be displayed.	@description@

Predefined Options

The values you want to be listed within your dropdown list, delimited by semi-colons with no spaces.

The first value listed will be the default value when a new record is created. If you want the value stored in the field to be different from what is displayed in the combo box you can use the following syntax in the Values section: StoreValue1=DisplayValue1;StoreValue2=DisplayValue2;StoreValue3=DisplayValue3; The value before the equal sign will be stored. The value after the equal sign is what will be displayed in the combo box, but does not get saved. (This technique is important when translating to other languages. The StoreValue must be the same in all languages. See here for further information.)

Display

Option	Description	Format
Caption Location	Determines the positioning and visibility of the caption relative to the field. Options include: Left of Field, Above Field, No Caption, Hide Caption. Note: this option was previously called Label Display. (See examples here.)	Not Applicable
Instructions	Text input here displays under the caption. If caption has Hide Caption enabled then any defined instructions will continue to be displayed above the input.	Not Applicable
Placeholder Text	Text input here displays within the text box as placeholder text that will disappear once the user clicks into the field to enter content. Note: this function is different from Default Text, as Placeholder text will not create content to be stored within the field.	Not Applicable
Tool Tip	When the user hovers their mouse pointer over the caption of a field, the text in this section will appear.	Not Applicable
Classify as Personal Data	For use in storing personal data.	Not Applicable
SmartFields View	Include or exclude this field from SmartField Views (@SmartFields@) or only display this field for SmartField Views. See SmartField View for further details.	Not Applicable
SmartFields PDF Formatting	PDF formatting option when rendered from SmartFields Views.	@SmartFields@
Width	Width of text box.	Not Applicable

Validation

Option	Description	Format
Mandatory	Selecting this option means that this field is required and must be completed.	Not Applicable
Appear Mandatory	Makes the field appear as though it is a required field. Typically used in conjunction with browser scripts, JavaScript Validation or Submit Logic that perform validation.	Not Applicable
Custom Validation	-	Not Applicable
Failed Validation Message	Message displayed if validation fails.	Not Applicable

Feature Options

Option	Description	Format
Track Changes	Keeps track of changes made to this field.	Not Applicable
Show Display Value in List Views	By default, the stored value is shown when fields are referenced in List Views. Selecting this option will display the display value.	Not Applicable

Value Storage

Option	Description	Format
From Custom Field(s)	Value Stores To	Not Applicable
To Custom Field	Value Stores To	Not Applicable

Notes

Allow Empty

Because the values in a Combo Box Custom Field are restricted to the semi-colon delimited list in the Values field, the Allow Empty field has a slightly different behaviour than usual. It controls whether or not the record can be saved with the default value (which is the first value listed in the Values section):

• If Allow Empty is checked, the record can be saved with the default value.
• If Allow Empty is not checked, the record cannot be saved with the default value. In this way you can force the user to select a value different from the default value.
• Important: Because the record cannot be saved with the default value, the first item listed in the Value section should be either a space followed by a semi-colon (if you want the field to start out blank) or an instruction to the user such as -----Select One-----; Please choose; or similar. You do not want an actual value as the first item, since the record can never be saved with the first value if Allow Empty is deselected.