The Form Editor provides a special type of entry: the "text area", allowing you to add static text to a form. You can use text areas to have the form display descriptive text, such as titles, captions, or brief instructions. In the Web Interface, a text area entry only displays the text specified in the configuration of the entry. To change the text, you need to edit the entry from the Form Editor.
To add static text to a Web Interface form
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Open the form in the Form Editor. To do so, navigate to the Web Interface page that you want to configure, then click Customize.
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Click the tab to which you want to add static text.
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On the toolbar in the Form Editor, point to Add Entry and click Text area.
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In the Text to display box, supply the text you want to be displayed on the tab.
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Click Finish. Then, click Reload to publish your changes.
These steps add an entry named Text area in the Form Editor. You can select the check box next to the Text area name and use the Move Up and Move Down buttons on the toolbar to change the position of the text area. To change the text displayed by the text area, click the Edit icon next to the Text area name. When you are done, click Save, then click Reload to publish your changes.
You can delete entries from a Web Interface form with the Form Editor of the Customization menu.
To delete entries from a Web Interface form
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Open the form in the Form Editor. To do so, navigate to the Web Interface page that you want to configure, then click Customize.
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Click the tab from which you want to delete entries.
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In the list of entries, select check boxes to mark the entries you want to delete.
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On the toolbar in the Form Editor, click Delete.
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Once the entries are deleted from the form, click Reload to publish your changes.
You can view or modify Web Interface entries with the Form Editor of the Customization menu.
To view or modify entries in a Web Interface form
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Open the form in the Form Editor. To do so, navigate to the Web Interface page that you want to configure, then click Customize.
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Click the tab in which you want to manage entries.
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Click the Edit icon next to the name of the entry you want to manage.
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Modify the entry properties as you need. For more information on these entries, see Type of Web Interface entries and Entry for an attribute of DN syntax):
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Entry name: Text that labels the entry on the Web Interface page. For a check box, the name of the entry appears next to the check box. For an edit box, the name is displayed above the edit box.
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Entry description: Any text that helps identify the entry.
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Entry ToolTip: The text that is displayed when the mouse pointer is positioned over the entry on the Web Interface page.
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Entry type: The type of the entry. For details, see Type of Web Interface entries. This setting is defined when the entry is created, and cannot be changed.
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Property: The list of attributes that are managed by this entry (managed attributes). Each attribute is identified by its LDAP display name. This setting is defined when the entry is created, and cannot be changed.
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Treat as single-valued: This option applies to entries for multi-valued attributes. When selected, causes the entry to behave as if the managed attribute can store only one value.
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Read only: When selected, prevents the user from changing the data displayed by the entry on the Web Interface page.
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Syntax: Indicates the syntax of the attribute that is managed by this entry. The name of the syntax is retrieved from the directory schema and displayed for information purpose only.
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Multivalued: Indicates whether the managed attribute is multi-valued. This information is retrieved from the directory schema and displayed for information purpose only.
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Render as multiline: Applies to entries for managing string values. Specifies whether the entry can display multiple strings or only a single string.
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Label next to entry: Specifies whether to display the entry name next to or above the entry on the form. When this check box selected, the name appears to the left of the entry. When this check box is cleared, the name appears above the entry.
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Text to display: Applies to the text area entry type. Specifies the text to be displayed in the text area.
NOTE: Any changes you make to an entry will be applied to every form containing the entry.
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To apply your changes, click Save, then Reload.
The Web Interface provides for these types of entry:
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Auto: Default entries. This type is assigned to the entries created using the Form Editor.
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Custom: Predefined entries that come with the Web Interface and use custom processing logic, or entries added by implementing and deploying custom code.
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Naming: Entries for managing so-called naming attributes, such as the name attribute. Setting a naming attribute requires some additional steps, as compared with other attributes. The entries of this type are normally predefined and installed with the Web Interface.
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StaticText: Entries for adding static text, also referred to as text areas. You can use text areas to display descriptive text, such as titles, captions, or brief instructions.
For each entry, certain logic is implemented that governs how to process the values of the managed attribute. When retrieving an attribute from the directory, the entry uses that logic to represent the attribute value in the appropriate format. When applying changes to an attribute value, the entry relies on that logic to transform the changes, if necessary, to meet the requirements imposed by the directory.
When you create an entry using the Form Editor, default processing logic is applied based on the syntax of the managed attribute according to the directory schema. Such default entries are referred to as Auto entries in the Web Interface.
For each of the syntaxes that are defined in Active Directory, certain default logic is defined in the Web Interface and applied to every Auto entry for managing any attribute of the respective syntax. Thus, an auto entry for an attribute of Boolean syntax takes the form of a check box. An auto entry for an attribute of String (Unicode) syntax is merely an edit box.
Default processing logic may not be suitable for all attributes. A typical example is userAccountControl.
In Active Directory, the userAccountControl attribute values are stored as integers, so the Auto entry for that attribute takes the form of an edit box that displays the integer value retrieved from the directory. This representation of attribute values is not helpful because a value of the userAccountControl attribute is, in fact, a 4-byte (32-bit) data structure that contains flags for configuring some user account settings, such as the flag that controls whether a user account is enabled or disabled.
A value of userAccountControl is a type of integer wherein each bit in the numeric value represents a unique setting. This type of integer is called a bit field. Because each bit in a bit field represents a different setting, simply examining the integer value as a whole number is of little use. You must examine the individual bit that corresponds to the setting you are interested in viewing or changing.
To help identify which bit to check in the userAccountControl value, the Web Interface provides a predefined entry that uses custom logic to represent each bit as a separate check box. The entries like this one, which use processing logic differing from default processing logic, are called Custom entries in the Web Interface (as opposed to the Auto entries that rely on default processing logic).
In the Web Interface, a lot of predefined custom entries are available out of the box. Each of the predefined custom entries, like the custom entry for the userAccountControl attribute, is designed to manage a single attribute or a group of related attributes in accord with the intended meaning of the attribute or attributes rather than only based on the syntax of attribute values. If necessary, new custom entries can be added that use any suitable processing logic. For more information and instructions, see the Active Roles SDK.
