The superuser admin can configure server-wide global data. One common use is for forms deployed from a development/test form server to a production form server. You often need information such as URLs configured one way in your dev/test environment and another way in your production environment. For example, a database in the dev/test environment might be located at http://mytest:1024/database/listManagers and in your production environment at http://myprod:1044/database/listManagers.

makes deployment from dev/test to production easier by enabling you to configure global data variables. For example, rather than hard-coding the URL to your database server you can write the URL using a template such as {dbUrl}/database/listManagers. Then define variable dbUrl one way in dev/test and another way in production.

To see all the places where templates can be used, refer to the chapter Templatized Strings.

On This Page:

Setting Global Data in _data properties file

To define your server-wide global data:

Click the Download icon. This will download an empty default _data.properties file.
Add your global data to the _data.properties file. See below for an example of the syntax. Save the file.
Login to the form server as the superuser admin
Click Manage Default _data
Click Browse...
Locate your newly created _data.properties file.
Click Upload.
For subsequent edits of the _data.properties file, simply download the _data.properties file previously uploaded by clicking on the Download icon. Edit the file and upload the modified file as described above.

Here is an example of the syntax for a _data.properties file:

dbUrl=http://localhost:8080/database/listManagers
ManagerName=Joe

You will see the following message when the _data.properties file has been successfully uploaded to :

Parameters defined in the _data.properties file can be retrieved using _data.getParameter in rules. Dynamic Labels, Help or Hints is an example showing how you can set the value of control labels, help and hints dynamically in a rule.

Template Validation

Template Validation supports any properties locally available in the global _data managed by the super admin user. The _data property names that match a partially entered template name will be offered in the dropdown of matches. Any _data used on the URL at runtime is not supported (and will not validate) with this functionality because it is not known at design time, only runtime. A global _data property used in a template in a form/flow that is downloaded and uploaded into another frevvo instance that does not have that _data property will be flagged as an invalid template. In this situation, the designer can either ignore the error, update the default _data properties or, if the validation is for a flow/form or flow step property that prevents saving the properties, add a hidden control of the same name so that validation passes.

Setting Global Data in the Configuration File

Properties listed in the _data.properties can be overridden with properties prefixed by frevvo._data.<property name> in the frevvo-config.properties file located in <frevvohome>\tomcat\conf. Note the syntax for the properties has a dot before and after the _data.

This approach is helpful when deploying multiple environments. Let's say your organization has a Development, Production and UAT environment for . All three have the frevvo DB Connector configured for that environment. If you make a copy of the Production environment and database to create your UAT environment, you would have to download the _data properties file, make the changes to point to the DB Connector in the UAT environment, then upload the file again.

It is easier to create property files with a frevvo._data.dbURL parameter pointing to the correct locations for each environment.

The parameter in the frevvo-config.properties file would look like this:

frevvo._data.dbURL=http://<server>:<port>

As mentioned above, you can write the URL using a template such as {dbURLl}/database/listManagers. Then define the variable dbURL for the development, UAT and Production environments in the properties file you are using.