Multiple Choice and Datasources

This is closed-ended field type where the user can select one or more values from a presented list. You can select from a long list of field types and you can also select where the field pulls its data from (its datasource).

Datasources for Multiple Choice fields

The power and flexibility of a Multiple Choice Field comes from the various items it can display and where those items can be taken from (the source of the data - or "datasource").

Usage and Syntax

Even though they each have their own particularities, all datasources share a common syntax. As such, all datasources should contain:

• A label or Text - what is displayed in the field and shown to the user.
• A Value - the value of the field in the background, which is optional; in case the Value is missing (i.e. not specified), it will take the value of Text element.

On the back-end, the Text and Value of a Multiple Choice Field can be addressed by using the [field_name:Text] and [field_name:Value] syntax. The [field_name] syntax can also be used and normally references the value of the field, but it is in a more human-readable format like csv instead of JSON array for the multiplechoice with checkboxes field.

The Multiple Choice Fields that are available in the Form Builder share a series of datasources such as (but not limited to):

• Portal/Admin/Host - take data from your Plant an App pages

• Portals/Modules/Roles/Containers - take data from your respective Plant an App objects

• TimeZone list

• Year range

• Items - this is the datasource type that allows you to manually type the items that will show in the multiple choice field.

Examples of how valid datasource for the Items datasource type will look like:

    1</br>2</br>3

↳ when the text display item and its value are the same (1, 2, 3)

    One|1</br>Two|2</br>Three|3

↳ when the text display item ("One", "Two", "Three") is different to the value (1, 2, 3), text and value are separated by a pipe symbol "|"

• API Endpoint Method Datasource - this datasource type allows you to use a local API Endpoint Method as source of data for your multiple choice fields.

• An SQL Query - when using an SQL Select as a datasource for a Multiple Choice field, the columns selected will be automatically assigned as follows (unless otherwise specified in the SQL Query):

  • the first column represents the Text (what is shown to the user)
  • the second column represents the Value (the back-end value of the field)

This is how a valid datasource for the SQL Query datasource type will look like:

SELECT Username FROM Table	SELECT Username,Id FROM Table
When the displayed item and the actual value behind it are the same ("Username")	When the you want to display a different value ("Username") to the actual value behind it ("Id")

The "SELECT Username,Id FROM Table" will generally result in the Username being the Text and the Id being the Value. This can be overridden by specifying which one is the Text and which one is the Value as follows: SELECT Username as Value,Id as Text FROM Table.

• Server request (JSON) - this is an advanced datasource type that allows you to use an API, either internal (your own, built within the Plant an App APIs section) or external (third party, from any webservice you might want to integrate with).

To be usable, the output of the API should be a valid JSON list (an array of objects) such as:

1. A simple array:

   [{
   "UserId": "8",
   "FirstName": "Name1"
   }, {
   "UserId": "5",
   "FirstName": "SomeName"
   }]

2. An array that is a value of one of the JSON parameters, situation in which you will need to provide the correct JSON path to the array ("$.results" or "results"):

   {
   "timestamp": "19:55",
   "date": "2022-11-20",
   "results": "[{\"UserId\":\"8\",\"FirstName\":\"Name1\"},    {\"UserId\":\"5\",\"FirstName\":\"SomeName\"}]"
   }

As for all datasources, the Server Request datasource is also based on a "Text|Value" system for which you will have to name the JSON properties as "Text/Value" or specify in the multiple choice field settings which JSON property to be used as Text and which one to be used as Value (see example above).

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