Mandatory field Registry entries

Two Registry entries are used to specify which fields are mandatory:

  • Mandatory Registry entry

    Specify that a field is mandatory and must be completed before a record can be saved.

    A field specified as mandatory must contain a value in order for a record to be saved. If no value is entered in a mandatory field, an error message can be displayed when a user attempts to save the record, and the cursor moves to the incomplete field.

    Any field in any module can be specified as mandatory.

  • Mandatory Modifier Registry entry

    Modify the mandatory setting for a field (set using the Mandatory Registry entry) based on data found in the current record.

A field specified as mandatory must contain a value in order for a record to be saved. If no value is entered in a mandatory field, an error message can be displayed when a user attempts to save the record, and the cursor moves to the incomplete field.

Any field in any module can be specified as mandatory.

Tip: When a field is specified as mandatory, it can be given a background colour for emphasis.

Tip: See Mandatory Modifier Registry entry for details about modifying the mandatory setting for a field based on data found in the current record.

Usage

This Registry entry can be assigned to users and groups:

Key User User Group Group Group Group
Key 1 User User Group Group Group Group
Key 2 user user group group Default Default
Key 3 Table Table Table Table Table Table
Key 4 table Default table Default table Default
Key 5 Mandatory
Key 6 column
Value boolean;optional message if mandatory test fails
User user Table table Mandatory column boolean;optional message if mandatory test fails
User user Table Default Mandatory column boolean;optional message if mandatory test fails
Group group Table table Mandatory column boolean;optional message if mandatory test fails
Group group Table Default Mandatory column boolean;optional message if mandatory test fails
Group Default Table table Mandatory column boolean;optional message if mandatory test fails
Group Default Table Default Mandatory column boolean;optional message if mandatory test fails

where:

column

is the back-end name for a field.

boolean

is true (the field is mandatory) or false (the field is not mandatory).

If required, add a message to display when a user tries to save a record but a value has not been entered in a mandatory field.

Note: A false value can be useful if it is necessary to override a true setting for a particular user or group.

Note: Mandatory fields are typically set at the Group|Default level and are the same for all users, although they can be set for specific users and groups.

Note: A separate Registry entry is required for each field that is to be mandatory.

Example

This entry specifies that the AddPhysCountry (Country) field in a record in the Parties module must be completed before the record can be saved:

Key Setting
Key 1 Group
Key 2 Default
Key 3 Table
Key 4 eparties
Key 5 Mandatory
Key 6 AddPhysCountry
Value true;Country is mandatory

Modify the mandatory setting for a field (set using the Mandatory Registry entry) based on data found in the current record.

Usage

This Registry entry can be assigned to users and groups:

Key User User Group Group Group Group
Key 1 User User Group Group Group Group
Key 2 user user group group Default Default
Key 3 Table Table Table Table Table Table
Key 4 table Default table Default table Default
Key 5 Mandatory Modifier
Key 6 column
Key 7 value
Value settings
User user Table table Mandatory Modifier column value settings
User user Table Default Mandatory Modifier column value settings
Group group Table table Mandatory Modifier column value settings
Group group Table Default Mandatory Modifier column value settings
Group Default Table table Mandatory Modifier column value settings
Group Default Table Default Mandatory Modifier column value settings

where:

column

is the back-end name of the field which should be consulted to look for a matching value.

value

is a case insensitive match (i.e. patterns / wildcards are not allowed unlike with the Security | Update Registry entry). The value is checked against the complete contents of column. The comparison is case insensitive. If column is a table of values, then each entry in the table is tested. If one matches, the Registry entry applies. Values of NULL and NOT NULL may be used to represent empty and non-empty values respectively.

Note: If using NULL and NOT NULL, these are case sensitive.

settings

is a semicolon separated list of assignments to columns that is applied if there is a match of the data in column with the value query.

The format of settings is:

column=boolean;column=boolean;...

where:

column

is the name of the column to be modified.

boolean

is true (the column should be mandatory) or false (the column should not be mandatory, i.e. remove the mandatory setting).

For this example, we want the Main Title field to be mandatory, but only if the record type is Object:

Key Setting
Key 1 Group
Key 2 Default
Key 3 Table
Key 4 ecatalogue
Key 5 Mandatory Modifier
Key 6 RecObjectType
Key 7 Object
Value TitMainTitle =true

Now when the record type is set to Object, the Main Title field must be filled before the record can be saved successfully. If Main Title is not completed, the standard error message is displayed. You may tailor the error message shown using the Mandatory Registry entry. For example:

Key Setting
Key 1 Group
Key 2 Default
Key 3 Table
Key 4 ecatalogue
Key 5 Mandatory
Key 6 TitMainTitle
Value false;Please enter a Main Title for the Object

will display the error message Please enter a Main Title for the Object if the field is not filled while the mandatory setting is true. A false value indicates that the field is not mandatory by default.

The above example shows how to alter the mandatory setting for a field (TitMainTitle) based on the value in another field (RecObjectType).

In this example the mandatory setting for more than one field is altered based on the values of multiple fields. If the record type is set to Object and the object status is set to Accessioned, then the Accession Number, Date Accessioned and Accession Lot fields must be supplied:

Key Setting
Key 1 Group
Key 2 Default
Key 3 Table
Key 4 ecatalogue
Key 5 Mandatory Modifier
Key 6 RecObjectType
Key 7 Object
Value TitAccessionNo=true;TitAccessionDate=true;TitAccessionLot=true
Key Setting
Key 1 Group
Key 2 Default
Key 3 Table
Key 4 ecatalogue
Key 5 Mandatory Modifier
Key 6 TitObjectStatus
Key 7 Accessioned
Value TitAccessionNo=true;TitAccessionDate=true;TitAccessionLot=true

Where multiple values are to be checked, a Mandatory Modifier Registry entry is required for each value for each column. Where multiple Registry entries match based on the values within fields (as with the previous example where both the object type and object status matched), the mandatory settings are ANDed together. This means that unless all the settings for a given field are true, mandatory is set to false.