Drop Down

Selection

Defines whether a user is allowed to select a single option or multiple options from the drop-down list:

Single Selection allows a user to select only one option from the drop-down list:

Multiple Selection allows a user to select multiple options from the drop-down list:

Data Source

Select the source from which the field fetches the list of options.

To access the property, click a field on the form to open the property panel: Data Source → Type.

Static List

The list of options is static and stored in the form.

Add a list of options to the Options property:

This option allows to customize each option’s color and specify the default option:

Enable Allow user value to allow users to enter a custom value that is not included in the list of options:

Wait until field is ready

Wait until the field is loaded. The ready method returns a promise that is resolved when the field has been fully initialized and is ready to work with.

Useful if loading data from Excel data source.

fd.field('Field1').ready(function(field) {
    // alert when the field is ready
    alert('Field is fully loaded');
});
//or
fd.field('Field1').ready().then(function(field) {
    // alert when the field is ready
    alert('Field is fully loaded');
});

Get or set field value

Get or set the field value in a single selection mode:

//return field value as a string
fd.field('Field1').value;

//set field value
fd.field('Field1').value = 'Item 1';

Get or set the field value in a multiple selection mode:

//return field value as an array of string
fd.field('Field1').value;

//set field value
fd.field('Field1').value = ['Item 1', 'Item 2'];

Handle change event

Execute a function when a field value has been changed:

fd.field('Field1').$on('change', function(value) {
    //log changes to browser's console
    console.log('New value: ' + value);
});

Make field required

Make a field required or optional:

//make field required
fd.field('Field1').required = true;

//make field not required
fd.field('Field1').required = false;

Disable field

Make a field non-editable. The field value can still be changed with JavaScript and saved:

//disabled field
fd.field('Field1').disabled = true;

//enable field
fd.field('Field1').disabled = false;

Get HTML element

Access HTML element inside the field in order to modify it, hide it, or do something else.

//access field's control
var htmlField = fd.field('Field1').$el;

//access field's block, which includes title and control
var htmlFullField = fd.field('Field1').$parent.$el;

Hide field

Hide a field from a user. The field value can still be accessed and changed with JavaScript:

//hide field
fd.field('Field1').hidden = true;

//show field
fd.field('Field1').hidden = false;

Configure widget

You can access the widget used by the field. The widget is based on Kendo UI DropDownList in regular mode, with allow user value option enabled it is based on Kendo UI ComboBox, and in multiple selection mode it is based on Kendo UI MultiSelect.

// get the widget
fd.field('Field1').widget

// change the widget's configuration
fd.field('Field1').widgetOptions = { template: '<span style="font-weight: bold">#: data #</span>' }

widgetOptions is the same as widget.setOptions({}) but can be defined before widget initialization.

Allow custom values

Check whether a user is allowed to enter a custom value that is not included in the list of options.

//returns true or false
fd.field('Field1').allowUserValue;

Change field options

Change the Drop Down field options:

fd.field('Field1').widget.dataSource.data(['New option 1', 'New option 2', 'New option 3']);

Get or set option colors

If you want to change option colors without changing the options, use the following, just replace Your option with actual value:

//get option colors
fd.field('Field1').optionsColors['Your option'].backgroundColor
fd.field('Field1').optionsColors['Your option'].textColor

//set option colors:
fd.field('Field1').setOptionColors('Your option', {textColor: '#ffffff', backgroundColor: '#ebb65e'})

Limit number of selectable options

For multiple selection mode, you can limit the number of selectable options with field validation:

//prevent user from selecting more than 3 options
fd.field('Field1').addValidator({
    name: 'Field1 options validation',
    error: 'No more than 3 options',
    validate: function(value){
        if(value.length > 3){
            return false;
        }
        return true;
    }
});

Retrieve extra columns

To get values from Excel data source extra columns property, use the following code:

var item = fd.field('Field1').selectedItem; //returns the object containing all columns of the selected item
var items = fd.field('Field2').selectedItems; //returns an array for objects containing all columns of the selected items

To get values to populate other fields, check this example:

//example use case
fd.rendered(function() {
    var policyField = fd.field('InsurancePolicy');
    policyField.$on('change', value => {
        var policyData = policyField.selectedItem;
        if (policyData) {
            fd.field('Location').value = policyData.Location;
            fd.field('Region').value = policyData.Region;
            fd.field('State').value = policyData.State;
            fd.field('InsuredValue').value = policyData.InsuredValue;
        } else {
            fd.field('Location').value =
                fd.field('Region').value =
                fd.field('State').value =
                fd.field('InsuredValue').value = null;
        }
    });
});