Custom Fields

SBM Composer provides a diverse set of field types that you can add to the primary and auxiliary tables in your applications. See Custom Field Types for a complete list.

Consider the following tips when you create custom fields:

• Binary/Trinary, Date/Time, Numeric, Text, and Summation fields represent simple values stored within database tables. These field types are the most efficient and provide the best performance when used in reports. Users can search against and sort most of these field types in reports. Report calculations can also be performed on Date/Time and Numeric fields.
• Text fields with the Memo or Journal option enabled cannot be sorted in reports.
• SBM supports non-ASCII characters in Text field values, allowing runtime data to be displayed in a wide variety of international languages.
• Folder, Single Selection, Multi-Selection, Multi-User, Multi-Group, and User fields are limited to the selections set by the designer or administrator. Single Relational, Multi-Relational, and Sub-Relational fields are constrained by data provided by users.
• With a Single Relational field, users can select a value from a drop-down list or search for a value using the value find or relational field value search feature. A Multi-Relational field adds the ability to select multiple values (rather than a single value) and the option to use a set of check boxes (rather than a drop-down list). In either case, users who have privileges to view the relational field item in the related table can click the pop-up icon that appears next to the relational field when they view items. The related item opens in a pop-up window, and users can work with the item as their privileges allow.
• The Item ID and value display format are displayed as values for Single Relational and Multi-Relational fields. If an auxiliary table used for relational fields does not contain an Item ID field, only the value display format is displayed. See General Tab of the Table Property Editor for information about the value display format.
• Consider user privileges carefully when you create relational fields across tables. Users who do not have privileges to view items in a relational field table may be able to view those items as values in relational fields in other tables. To prevent users from viewing relational field values, move relational fields to a section for which users do not have view privileges.
• Sub-Relational field values are not added to the database, but define a relationship between fields. Sub-Relational fields can be useful in certain situations, but extensive use of them may slow the performance of your process app.