To add a control to a View, select the Controls tab in the Toolbox. Click on the required control in the list and drag and drop it on the View canvas.

In order to change the type of a control that is linked to a field, click on the control on the canvas, then click on the Change Control icon in the Toolbar. The Change Control dialog opens. Select the new control type and click OK.

When a control is dragged from the Toolbox of a View, it is bound to that SmartObject property. When using the same control more than once on a View, all of those controls stay bound to that property unless you specifically unbind the control. Controls can be unbound by selecting the control and clicking on the Unbind button in the canvas Toolbar. When one of the controls bound to the property is updated, all of the related controls linked to that property will be updated as well.
It is therefore important to note that when using the dependent drop down scenario on a List View, for example, one needs to unbind the parent controls from the foreign keys that were originally dragged upon the canvas. When one drop down changes, it applies the change to the next control, which is bound to the same field, and will attempt to update all the related controls. This will cause a repeating cycle of events.
This is also applicable if a foreign key value is transferred from the one drop down to the other as the primary key value. When the ID's stop matching, this will seem as if the wrong data is returned to the user or unexpected behavior may occur.
The last control that is changed and also linked to a property, determines that property’s value. It is imperative to remember that if a control is not specifically required to save (or show) a particular property’s value, it should not be bound to that property.

Keyboard accessibility features are available to most input and certain other controls to ease the use of controls at runtime. Access keys can be used for accessibility to interact with controls or using the keyboard.
Examples:

• Esc key - Cancels the request or resets the control to its former state
• Space bar key - Activates the control with input focus; activates a selection
• Arrow keys - The arrow keys move input focus among the control. Pressing the right arrow key moves input focus to the right or up, whereas pressing the left arrow moves input focus to the left or down. The up and down arrow keys move the input focus up and down
• Enter key - Makes a selection
• Tab key - Move forward through options; navigating within a window

Tip when using Safari Browser
When tabbing between controls using the Safari browser, ensure that the setting Press Tab to highlight each item on a webpage is selected under Preferences > Advanced. Without this setting selected all anchor elements (contained in controls that have buttons) will be skipped when you tab through the controls and thus be unreachable with the keyboard

When using a control, it is important to know that all files and images are saved as base64 encoded values.

Supported File Types

The following file types are supported and can be used in controls.

Change maximum File or Image size

The maximum File and Image size that can be attached with the File/Image attachment control is dictated by the following setting in the web.config file in the system.web section.

The web.config file can be found in the following location:

C:\Program Files (x86)\K2 blackpearl\K2 smartforms Designer

The default value is set as 8192 KB (kilobyte) which is an integer value and can be changed to the required value in KB

When selecting the Controls tab in the Toolbox menu of a View or Form, a list of controls are displayed which can be used to design the View. Controls are supported differently per drop zone and type of View.
When a control is dragged from the Toolbox of a View from an existing field, it is bound to that SmartObject property (field). When using the same control more than once on a View, all of those controls stay bound to that field unless you specifically unbind the control. Controls can be unbound by selecting the control and clicking on the Unbind button in the canvas Toolbar. When one of the controls bound to the field is updated, all of the related controls linked to that field will be updated as well.
If a control is dragged from the Toolbox of a View into a blank drop zone such as the View toolbar or control bar, the control is unbound.

Item View

• Bound controls are supported in all drop zones of the View
• Unbound controls are supported in all drop zones of the Views

List View

• Bound controls are supported in the body section and  will return the values as text, with some capabilities to reflect file, image and hyperlink properties in their respective manners. The main supported controls in the body section are the Data Label and List Display controls, the latter showing associated data.
• Unbound control - only the Data Label is supported on the display template (body) and can be used to display a default value 

Editable List View

• Bound controls are supported in all drop zones of the View. The Add/Edit Item row supports all types of controls, while the body section supports the same controls as per the List View (see above).
• Unbound control - only the Data Label is supported and can be used to display a default value

Using the Data Label control to display a default value

To use the Data Label control to display a default value on the List View or Editable List View, follow the steps below:

1. Drag the Data Label control from the Toolbox onto the column.
2. Type the default value in the Text field of the control properties.
   

3.  The Data Label control will be blank when adding a new entry as the default will apply as soon as the entry is saved or a refresh is done.

   

The following matrix shows the properties applicable to each control and the properties that are common to all Controls. To apply formatting and styling on a control, see the Style Builder. Each control can have it's own format and style such as applying percentage or decimal formatting on a control for example.

Control Properties Matrix.pdf

Important Considerations when using Controls and Properties

When a control is dragged from the Toolbox of a View, it is bound to that SmartObject property. When using the same control more than once on a View, all of those controls stay bound to that property unless you specifically unbind the control. Controls can be unbound by selecting the control and clicking on the Unbind button in the canvas Toolbar. When one of the controls bound to the property is updated, all of the related controls linked to that property will be updated as well.
It is therefore important to note that when using the dependent dropdown scenario on a List View for example, one needs to unbind the parent controls from the foreign keys that were originally dragged upon the canvas. When one dropdown changes, it applies the change to the next control, which is bound to the same field, and will attempt to update all the related controls. This will cause a repeating cycle of events.
This is also applicable if a foreign key value is transferred from the one dropdown to the other as the primary key value. When the ID's stop matching, this will seem as if the wrong data is returned to the user or unexpected behavior may occur.
The last control that is changed and also linked to a property, determines that property’s value. It is imperative to remember that if a control is not specifically required to save (or show) a particular property’s value, it should not be bound to that property.