Administering Forms
Overview
ResourceFirst allows easy configuration of multiple project forms. These can be used for maintaining basic project information, project status information, budget information, and more.
Some organizations like to have everything on one form, with different sections for each category of information, while others prefer a different form for each type of information (e.g., project charter vs status information).
Forms are only used for Projects or Events.
Forms appear when you click on a project on the Projects > Data page or click on a proposed project on the Projects > Initiation page, or when you show detail for an Event.
The Forms page has multiple toolbars. A form layout has multiple sections, and each field section can have multiple columns. There is a toolbar at each level, as follows:
In the Layout Toolbar, you can add sections (field sections, Phase & Milestone sections, and Events sections) and you can reorder the sections.
In the Section Toolbars (one for each section), you can edit the section name or number of columns, or you can delete the section.
In the Column Toolbars, you can add fields or labels to the column or delete the column.
You can drag fields up, down or sideways as needed.
Note that there is also an overall Page Toolbar in the top left of the Forms page:
From left to right the functions are:
- Grid Mode (Shows form names and attributes in a grid view)
- Detail Mode (Shows form details and layout)
- Form Type Selector (Projects, Events)
- Add a new form
- Delete a form
- Copy a form
- Reload the page
How To
Create and Modify System Forms
Step 1: Select the Forms and Views option in the Administration area, then select Forms.
Forms in a category (e.g. Projects or Events) will appear under the center Forms pane for the view category you click on.
Below is the “Projects” Forms page in Grid Mode (see ResourceFirst User Interface in the Grid Mode vs. Detail Mode section for more on grid vs. detail mode):
Note the following controls available for each form:
ACTIVE – To specify a form as “active” (i.e. it will appear to end users), check the Active checkbox.
DEFAULT FORM – To specify a form as the default form for its respective page(s), check the Default Form checkbox.
PLACEMENT – For project forms, forms can be designated to appear on Project Detail (Detail Form checkbox) and/or Project Initiation (Initiation Form checkbox).
PARTITION – To assign a form to a particular partition, specify the partition in the Partition column. For more on partitions, see Using Partitions.
Clicking the Detail Mode button 
on the Page Toolbar will show the forms in detail mode, where you can add, move, and delete fields from forms, change the layout, and create scripts:
Select Form Types
Click the form type dropdown to display a list of form types to choose from (Projects or Events). Always select the form type to see, create, or change forms in that category.
Add or Change a Form
Step 1: To add a form, click the 
icon. On the resulting dialog, give the form a name.
Step 2: Make sure you are in Detail Mode . In the left pane, click on the newly added form or the form you wish to change (Project Initiation is clicked below).
The Layout page for the form will be displayed in the right pane, with the sections that make up the form:
Add Sections to a Form
To add a section to a form, click the 
dropdown.
Three types of sections can be added:
- Field Section – This creates a section where you can add labels and fields
- Phases & Milestones – This creates an automated section where the end user can add or change phases and/or milestones for the project.
- Event Section – This creates an automated section where the end user can add or change events (e.g., risks, issues, etc.) for the project.
Choosing a section will add that section to the form. Further instructions are below.
Add a Field Section
When adding a Field section, you will be prompted to give the section a name and specify how many columns you wish in the section. You can always edit the section name and number of columns later (See “Edit a Field Section” below).
Add an Event Section
When adding an Event section you will be prompted to select an Event Type (e.g., Risk, Issue, etc.). You must add a separate section for each event type. Events of that type will then automatically appear on the form for the end user.
Add a Phase and Milestones Section
When adding a Phase and Milestones section you will be prompted to give the section a name (e.g., “Phases and Milestones”).
A blank section in the form will be added, but an automated section to add or change phases and milestones will appear on the form for the end user.
Below is how a Phase and Milestones section appears to the end user. Note that then can add or delete phases or milestones and edit the attributes.
Edit or Delete a Section
To edit a field section, click the edit icon 
on the Section Toolbar at the upper right of each section. To delete a section, click the trash can icon.
When editing a section, you can change the name or number or columns.
Editing Phase and Milestones sections and Event sections are similar, except columns don’t apply. You can only change the section name.
Reorder Sections
To reorder sections on the form layout, click the Reorder button 
on the Layout toolbar:
A dialog will appear showing the sections, which you can drag up or down to reorder. Then click the Reorder button.
Add or Change Fields/Labels
Note that sections can have multiple columns, and each column has its own Column Toolbar.
For example, the “General” section below has three columns:
Add a Field
To add fields or labels, click the dropdown for the appropriate column where you wish to add the item(s). From there, you can choose to add a field or a label (i.e., text that appears on the form). If adding a field, you will be prompted to select from an available list of fields.
Delete a Field
To delete a field from the form, click the checkbox next to the desired field and click the track can icon on the Column Toolbar.
Field Placement
You can drag fields up or down to reorder them in the column, or you can drag them to another column in the section.
Use Smart Forms with Scripts
Note the Before Show Script, Back Script, and Next Script columns on each form.
These enable SQL scripts that represent actions that can be taken upon presentation of the form, or upon a user clicking a Back or Next button.
Types of scripts are as follows:
- Before Show Script – Any script here will run before the form is shown to the user
- Back Script – If a script is specified here, a “Back” button will appear to the user, and the script will run when they click the Back button.
- Next Script – If a script is specified here, a “Next” button will appear to the user, and the script will run when they click the Next button.
Using the Back and Next scripts, you can arrange a forms workflow for the user. If desired, this workflow can be based on how the user filled out certain fields on the page (e.g., the script could have conditional routing to another form based on how fields were completed on the current form, and could even conditionally pre-populate fields on the next form accordingly).
Form scripts can also be used in conjunction with field-level scripts. For more on this, see Administering Fields.
See your PDWare representative for assistance in creating scripted smart forms.
Delete a Form
To delete a form, select the form and click the trash can icon on the Page Toolbar.
Copy a Form
To delete a form, select the form and click the copy icon 
on the Page Toolbar.
You will be prompted to enter the name of the new form. Click OK to perform the copy.
