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Module: Editor

Version: 2.2.1 +

User: Developer

Object Type: Calculation Object

Parent of:

no children

Child of:

- WebPage

- Node

- Document

- DatabaseView

- WebPanel

 

Description

A UserVariable is an object which value can be used in calculations just like a Fixed. Unlike the Fixed however, it's value is not set in advance in the Editor. Instead the value of a UserVariable is determined by the user on the website. For example the user fills in his salary on the website in a TextBox. This TextBox is connected to a UserVariable. When the user fills in his salary, this UserVariables value will be set to the salary.

Properties

DebugLogMode (from version 4.1)

Indicates the level of detail of debug information that is logged when running a Futurama application (website, webservice, console application) to the trace, a logfile, a database etc. The possible values are:

  • None: no debug information is logged
  • Simple: only basic information is given
  • Extended: in addition to the information in the Simple mode the values of all the properties of the object are shown

DefaultValue

This value is a value which the UserVariable is assigned initially. From Futurama version 18.02 it is also possible to define the texts within a ResourceDocument. See the page Text management and Multi-language.

IsPublic

Possible values are True or False. If the value is False, then the object can only be used within the document where it is created. If the value is True, then also from other Futurama documents can be referred to this object. This means that changes in the object also affect the document in which is referred to this object. If the value is True and you attempt to move or delete the object, a warning will be given. To limit these warnings to a minimum it is recommended to set IsPublic to True only when necessary.

Max

This value is the maximum value the UserVariable can have. If the property Type is set to either 'Boolean' or 'String' the property Max will become invisible, because it is irrelevant for these Types. If a user enters a value on the website which is higher than Max, the value Max will automatically be used. An example of the use of the property Max is when a user has to fill in a month. In this case Max is set to 12.

Min

This value is the minimum value the UserVariable can have. It functions the same as the property Max described above. An example of the use of the property Min is to enforce that the user fills in a non-negative value. In this case Min is set to 0.

ReturnsTable (until version 5.0)

This is an automatic property indicating whether the result of the Calculation object is a table. For a UserVariable it is always False. From version 5.1.0 the ReturnsTable property is replaced by the Rank property (see property below).

Rank (from version 5.1)

The Rank property is an automatic property indicating the rank of the Calculation Object. Rank=0 implies a scalar. Rank=1 a vector and Rank=2 a matrix. For an UserVariable the Rank=1.

TestValue

The value of a UserVariable is set in the website by the user. Nevertheless it is possible to test the UserVariable and the calculations that depend on it in the Editor as well. To do this we 'simulate' the user having set a value to the UserVariable by entering this value in the property TestValue. The value can be regarded as the value the user would have set in the website. When evaluating a UserVariable in the Results Window the TestValue is shown. The TestValue of a UserVariable can be removed by doing a rightclick on the UserVariable in the Document Explorer or on the object under which the UserVariable is located. Select the option 'Debug' and then 'Clear TestValues' to remove the TestValue of either the selected UserVariable or the TestValues of all UserVariables (and UserTables) which occur in the selected object.

XmlName

The name of the object as it is shown in the source of the website. By default the XmlName is equal to the name given in the property (Name) with spaces replaced by underscores, but you are free to change it.

(Name)

The name of the object.

Comment

Here a comment can be entered. For example a short description of the object.

ID

The unique identification number of the object. This number is automatically generated by Futurama on the moment of creation. This number can be used when searching for a certain object in the Find Window.

Text

Because the value of a UserVariable is not set in advance in the Editor but rather in the website, this property is disabled.

Type

The value of this property determines what kind of value can be assigned to the UserVariable. They also determine to which objects the UserVariable can be connected. For example a UserVariable of Type Date can be connected to a DateBox. The following types are available:

  • Long (an integer)
  • Double (a broken number)
  • Date
  • String
  • Boolean (a logical value which can be True or False)

Objects and UserVariables

There are a number of Output Objects and Action Objects to which a UserVariable can be connected and which can give the UserVariable a value. To connect a UserVariable to an object select the object in the Editor and refer in the property 'UserVariable' to the UserVariable. The following objects can be connected to a UserVariable:

- Action

- CheckBox

- DropDownList

- RadioGroup

- TextBox

- WebListBox

- WebSlider

- ChangeValue

- XmlBuilder

- DateBox 

Related Topics

- Fixed

- Formula

- DataTable

- Range

- Reference

- UserTable

Relevant Tutorials

- Adding interactivity to your web: this tutorial explains how to add a UserVariable to a TextBox and a DropDownList

Updated: 2012-07-23