Templatized String Syntax

Templates have the syntax: {<control name>}. For example, this form contains three controls labeled "Apples", "Oranges" and "Pears". The controls are named "Q1", "Q2" and "Q3" respectively and would be referenced in a template as {Q1}, {Q2} and {Q3}.

Templates can have default values. The syntax is {<control name>=<default>} For example, this form also contains a controls labeled "Total Items in Cart" which is named "T". A template {T=0} would resolved to the value "0" when the field named T is empty otherwise it would resolve to the entered value.

The Shopping Cart section control contains templates for its Label, Hint and Help.

The Help property contains this text:

You have {T} items in your cart.<br/> 
{Q1=0} Apples<br/> 
{Q2=0} Oranges<br/> 
{Q3=0} Pears 

Before the user starts entering values into this form they will see:

As a user begins entering values into the form fields, the templates will immediately begin appearing, and the user will see:

Templates support parameters. The syntax is {<control name>=<default value>!<parameter>}. The supported parameters are:

• encode={true/false} – If encode is false the template is not encoded after resolving it. The default is true 

The encode template parameter is very useful when the template value is a URL. For example, if the template is {svchost}?name={svcps} and svchost has the value http://localhost:8080, it will get mangled by encoding. Instead use {svchostencode=false}?name={svcps} and it will not get mangled by encoding.  

Repeat Controls

The template syntax is extended for controls inside repeats. The name of the repeating control must be proceeded with the '|' character. For example if you have a control name Phone inside a repeat, the template must be written as {|Phone}. The result of this template is to output the list of all phone numbers items entered into the form.

The syntax also allows for a optional separator. If you would like to get the list of phone number items separated by ", " (comma and space), use the following template: {, |Phone}. Other examples are {|Phone}, {,|Phone}, { |Phone}. The 1st template lists all the entered phone numbers with no separator. The 2nd uses a comma and the 3rd a space. If you used these three in a form's Doc Action Display Message and two phone numbers were entered 203.208.3117 and 203.208.3118 you would see this output for those three templates:

203.208.3117 203.208.3118
203.208.3117,203.208.3118
203.208.3117 203.208.3118 

Another example is {<br/> |Names} for a control named Names inside a repeat you would see the output:

Joe
Nancy 
James 

Repeat Item Labels

It is very useful to use templates with repeat controls. Imagine a long list of medications that appear on the form in a collapsed state. It is helpful if the section labels are not simply a static text such as "Medication" but rather dynamic and indicative of the values entered into the form.