Element Control

The Form Designer’s Element control is used in order to define read/write access to specific fields of the form and also specify if a field is mandatory.

This page describes the Element Control Tab as well as the different Element Control settings for each Context.

Element Control settings

Introduction

In order to define read and write rights for specific fields or containers, the element control context can be used. Setting fields to mandatory is also possible there.

The context is the current setting under which the Form is show. It can either be:

on starting a new instance
after selecting a specific task/activity
after selecting the instance

On each context, the most specific Element Control of each field/container is detected and then shown.

There is a variety of options for defining the Element Control - they are described further below.

Element controls can be set to containers (rows, tabs) and to fields. Fields can inherit their element control from containers. Containers and fields can inherit their element control from the Form default (for all processes).

Element Control Context

The different contexts are described in the table below.

Context	Description

Context	Description
`Form default (for all processes)`	This is the only context not bound to a specific field or container. It is the default for all fields which do not have an Element Control set (directly or inherited).
`Element default`	The `Element default` defines how the field behaves generally if there is no more specific setting (for a role, swimlane, task, etc.) and also how it behaves on Instance view.
`Workflow name (also valid for Process Instance View)` DEPRECATED	This context is deprecated and will be removed.
`Workflow name → Role: 'owner'`	Users which are Owners for the current workflow will see this context.
`Workflow name → Role: 'viewer'`	This context is shown for the External Form view (no login required)
`Workflow name → Status: Process Instance Start`	This context will be shown on starting a new Process Instance within TIM. If it is not set, the `Element default` is shown.
`Workflow name → Status: Webform Start`	This context will be shown on starting a new Process Instance via Webform. If it is not set, the `Status: Process Instance Start` will be shown.
`Workflow name` → `Swimlane A`	For all tasks within `Swimlane A`, this context is shown.
`Workflow name` → `Swimlane A` → `Activity A`	For all tasks within `Activity A`, this context is shown.
`Workflow name` → `Swimlane B`	For all tasks within `Swimlane B`, this context is shown.
`Workflow name` → `Swimlane B` → `Activtity B`	For all tasks within `Activity B`, this context is shown.

Hierarchy of Contexts

This list shows the Hierarchy of the Context Execution. It starts with most unspecific and ends with the most specific. The higher the number, the higher its priority.

Form default (for all processes)
Inherited element control from container
Element default
Workflow DEPRECATED
Swimlane
Activity
Status: Process Instance Start
Status: Webform Start
Form Rules (Rules can also manipulate the Element Control)
Role: Owner
Role: Viewer
Status: Ended (Completed tasks and completed instances are always read only)

How to add an Element Control

Select an element and go to the third tab on the right panel. This will allow you to add another Element Control and also see and select all existing ones on the bottom.

Example

For our example, we consider a very basic workflow with two swimlanes and three Activities.

To get started, we create a new form and add a container with six text fields. The element control settings are done as defined in the text field labels.

These settings result in this form:

Now change the Form default (for all processes) which sets all fields to required which are not having a specific element control setting in the current context:

The first and the last element are now set to required as they do not have another element control:

Now we add a Element Default to the container which sets all fields to visible only if there is no other element control in this context.

The Element Default of the container overrules the Form Default (for all Processes)as it is more specific. The first and last element is now not writeable anymore.

If we now add another container and a new text field without an Element control, the Form Default (for all Processes) will be the most powerful one.

Thus the new field is set to required:

As we do not have defined a specific Element control for Process instance start, the Process instance view for a started instance behaves the same.

We will now add two fields, one for each Swimlane, to the second container. By default, they would be shown as defined in Form Default (for all Processes).

In our case, we want the field Swimlane A to be writeable in Activity A1, but in all other tasks of the Swimlane it should be read-only. In order to achieve this, we select the Context Workflow Name -> Swimlane A -> Activity A1 and then click on the new field. We add an Element Control and set it to writeable:

Then we select the Context Workflow Name -> Swimlane A and add another Element Control and set it to read-only:

For the other field, we want to have it required on Instance Start and then only make it visible in Swimlane B. In order to achieve this, we have to set three Contexts. First one is Element Default to hide it generally:

Second one is Workflow Name -> Status: Process instance start to have it mandatory there:

And third one is Workflow Name -> Swimlane B to make it visible in all tasks there:

If we now save and publish the workflow, we get following results.

On Instance Start, both fields are required. Field Swimlane A is required because there is no Context that is more specific than the Form default (see above). Field Swimlane B is required as defined above.

By selecting the started Instance, we see in the Instance view that field Swimlane A is still required. This is still because of the Form default. Field Swimlane B is not shown as defined in the Element default.

If we select the task Activity A1, field Swimlane A is not required anymore but writeable (as defined in the specific context). Field Swimlane B is still not shown.

If we now complete the first task and select the second task Activity A2, field Swimlane A is not required anymore and also not writeable (there is no specific context for Activity A2 so the one from Swimlane A is taken). Field Swimlane B is still not shown.

If we now complete the second task and select task Activity B, field Swimlane A is required again (there is no specific context for Activity B so the Form default is taken). Field Swimlane B is read only as defined in the Workflow Name -> Swimlane B context.

Element Control Tab

Within the 'Element Control’ tab the user can see all element controls created in the 'Designer' tab.

Reference	Attribute	Description

Reference	Attribute	Description
1	Element control settings	For each element control setting the context, the field name, the element type, the superordinant container (if existing) and the control options are displayed here. The options (visible, writeable, required) can be changed by clicking on the respective checkbox. By clicking the trash can on the right hand side the element control setting can be deleted.