Dropdown Component

Estimated Reading Time:  12 minutes

Overview

The Dropdown component enables your end-user End-Users are the individuals accessing an application through Express View. In most cases, end-users are the customers using the product. to select a single option from a list. Use the Dropdown component in situations where lists contain too many options for Radio Buttons and Checkboxes components. For example, use a Dropdown component if you have six or more options, or you don't want the full list of options to display on the page at all times.

By default, the Dropdown component stays collapsed until the end-user clicks to open it. After making a selection, the Dropdown list closes again. Your end-user has the option to type the first few letters of their response to quickly find that option in the list.

The Dropdown component is located in the Primary Fields group to the left of the Module Editor.

What You'll Learn

In this article, you'll learn about the Dropdown component, how to configure its settings, and how to use it in an application.

About the Configuration Window

General

A static image displaying the Dropdown component's configuration window.

Setting

Description

Property ID

A Property ID is the unique field ID used by Unqork to track and link components in your module.

The Property ID is how the software identifies your component. Using Property IDs lets you link components, creating logic-based configurations and API APIs (application programming interfaces) are a set of protocols and definitions developers use to build and integrate application software. APIs act as the connective tissue between products and services. calls.

Property IDs must use camel case A naming convention for computer programming. Use camelCase for Property IDs, for example: newUser, lastName, & rdoButton. (stylized as camelCase) without spaces or punctuation.

Notes Notes icon

Select this tab to display the component's Notes area. You can use notes to keep your teammates informed.

The Notes editor offers a semi-WYSIWYG (What You See is What You Get) content editor. Built to look like a word processor, this editor lets you create, edit, and format your notes. Notes save when saving the component.

Display Icon Display

Select this tab to manage your component's display settings.

Data Icon Data

Select this tab to manage your component's data settings.

Actions Icon Actions

Select this tab to manage your component's actions settings.

Validation Icon Validation

Select this tab to manage your component's validation settings.

Advanced Icon Advanced

Select this tab to manage your component's advanced settings.

Permissions Icon Permissions

Select this tab to see the RBAC RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) is a method to control system access for authorized users. The role in RBAC refers to the levels of access employees have to a network. (role-based access control) settings of the component.

Field Tag Icon Field Tags

Assign components one-word labels to help organize, identify, and group the components in your application.

Consider an example from the API Specification Snippet: Field Tags are applied to Hidden components in the panelRequest and panelResponse Panels. The Field Tags identify the data type of parameters included in the API APIs (application programming interfaces) are a set of protocols and definitions developers use to build and integrate application software. APIs act as the connective tissue between products and services. request and response. The API Docs Dashboard tool populates with information about each parameter’s data type, identified by the Field Tag.

Field Tags act as a type of Property ID A Property ID is the unique field ID used by Unqork to track and link components in your module. group and let you group components for configuration purposes. Field Tags let you target two or more components using a simple logic component.

For example, add the Field Tag tagForDecision to multiple components in your module. Open the Inputs table of a Decisions component and reference the tagForDecision Field Tag as the input of the Decisions component. The output of the Decisions component then affects all components with the tagForDecision Field Tag.

Save your Field Tags by pressing Enter (Return) or adding a comma after each entry.

Shortcuts Icon Shortcuts

Select this tab to open the list of supported keyboard shortcuts you can use in the component settings modal. Keyboard shortcuts include:

  • Cmd + S (Mac) / Ctrl + S (PC): Save and close the component settings modal.

  • Cmd + G (Mac) / Ctrl + G (PC): Opens a search window to find specific fields and settings in the component settings modal.

  • Tab: Tab to the next field or setting in the component settings modal. This keyboard shortcut tabs left to right and top to bottom.

  • Shift + Tab: Tab to the previous field or setting in the component settings modal. The keyboard shortcut tabs from right to left and bottom to top.

  • Enter (Return): When tabbing to a Tooltip Icon (tooltip), press Enter (Return) to display the field or setting tooltip. Press Enter (Return) again to hide the tooltip.

Additional keyboard shortcuts:

  • Drop-down menus: When you Tab to a settings drop-down, use the keyboard's Up-Arrow Icon (up)/ Down-Arrow icon (down) arrows to make a selection. Then, press Enter (Return) to confirm the selection.

Documentation IconDocumentation

Select this tab to access the component documentation in Unqork's In-Product Help.

Cancel

Click this button to undo any unsaved configuration changes and return to the canvas.

Save & Close

Click this button to save all settings as configured and return to the canvas.

Display Panel

A static image dispaying the Dropdown component's Display settings.
(click to expand image)

Setting

Description

Label Text

Label Text conveys what the input component is and what information it displays. Enter the purpose of the corresponding component or field.

User-friendly labels make your module more accessible. Keep labels short and descriptive (a word or two) using title case. For longer entries, use sentence case.

Tooltip

A short hint that displays when an end-user positions their cursor over the Questionmark Icon (Tooltip) icon. Tooltips can display across more than one line.

Placeholder Text

A short prompt telling end-users the expected value of an input field. For example: Enter your Social Security Number. Placeholder Text displays inside the input field until the end-user begins an entry.

Hide Label

Setting the Hide Label toggle to Toggle On Icon (ON) stops Label Text from displaying in Express View. Your Label Text still displays in the Module Editor.

By default, the Hide Label toggle is set to Toggle Off icon (OFF).

Read Only View

When set to Toggle On Icon (ON), the component is display-only. If another component pushes content to the field, the end-user sees that content. Otherwise, end-users see the word None.

By default, the Read Only View toggle is set to Toggle Off icon (OFF).

Disable User Input

When set to Toggle On Icon (ON), end-users can’t interact with or edit the Express View's input field or element. When end-users hover over the field, their cursor changes to alert them to the status change.

By default, the Disable User Input toggle is set to Toggle Off icon (OFF).

Hide Field

Shows or hides the component from view. Setting the Hide Field toggle to Toggle On Icon (ON) hides the component in Express View. Setting the toggle to Toggle Off icon (OFF) shows the component. The component is always visible in the Module Editor.

By default, the Hide Field toggle is set to Toggle Off icon (OFF).

Data Panel

A static image dispaying the Dropdown component's Data settings.
(click to expand image)

Data Source Type

There are three methods that you can use to populate a Dropdown component: Values, URL, and Data Reference Key.

Values

Selecting Values displays a table where you can enter each option and its value.

Setting

Description

Option Label

Each option needs an end-user End-Users are the individuals accessing an application through Express View. In most cases, end-users are the customers using the product.-facing label describing the choice that it represents. Enter your Option Labels using this column.

After you create an option, another row displays for you to create the next option.

Option Value

Each option needs an associated value to store in the submission data Also known as Record Data. Submission data consists of information saved by Unqork components. View submission data by using the angular command, or in Record Collections.. Enter the values to store in submission data using this column.

By default, the value is a camel case A naming convention for computer programming. Use camelCase for Property IDs, for example: newUser, lastName, & rdoButton. version of the Option Label. You can also assign a numeric value to each option for use in logic-based configurations.
URL

To use data that are not stored in a specific component, select URL. Generally, this data lives in two places:

  • External to Unqork and pulled into the component using an external API call.

  • Internally and stored as a data collection.

NOTE  To use an external API call, reference the provider's documentation. There, you'll find the API's URL address and the information you need to filter the data. To learn more, see our Using an External API in a Dropdown Component article.

To reference data collections in Unqork, use the Data Collection Icon Data Collections tab at the Application Level. Click Create Data Collection to create a new data collection. Or, look through the available data collections and use one of those.

TIP  To learn more data collectioins, see our Workspaces: Working with Reference Data article.

Setting

Description

Request Header

Enter the information to display in the drop-down selections. These are your end-user's options. For external APIs, you'll find this information in the API documentation. To pull data from a Data Collection, enter the column header you want to use.

Option Value

Each option needs an associated value to store in the submission data Also known as Record Data. Submission data consists of information saved by Unqork components. View submission data by using the angular command, or in Record Collections.. Enter the values to store in submission data using this column.

By default, the value is a camel case A naming convention for computer programming. Use camelCase for Property IDs, for example: newUser, lastName, & rdoButton. version of the Option Label. You can also assign a numeric value to each option for use in logic-based configurations.

Data Source URL

For an API to bring in data, you need the API's URL information. In this field, enter the API information as obtained from the API documentation. Add additional filters at the end of the URL if you want to drill down to a specific type of data.

Value Property

If a data set includes a column for values, enter the column's name here.

If not specified, the application uses the option label itself.

Data Path

If using an API call to populate the component, enter a specific data property to reference here. This is useful if you want to show one piece of a larger data set in your Dropdown component.

Label Path

This field refers to the option labels you want to pull. Enter the option label's column header in this field.

Filter Query

Provide additional filtering using query parameters. Parameters append to the end of the Data Source URL. Query parameters can be static or dynamic. For example, name={{data.groupName}}.

Refresh On

This field displays a list of the other components in your module. You can select a component here to refresh your Dropdown. When your end-user interacts with the selected component, the Dropdown resets.

You can also select Any Change. This refreshes the Dropdown if your end-user interacts with any of your components.

Require Search Parameters

When set to Toggle On Icon (ON), search parameters must be present to execute the search.

By default, this setting is Toggle Off Icon (OFF).

Clear Value on Refresh

When set to Toggle On Icon (ON), the selected value is cleared after the Refresh On setting triggers.

By default, this setting is Toggle Off Icon (OFF).

Authenticate

When set to Toggle On Icon (ON), authentication headers from the application are sent to the Data Source URL destination.

By default, this setting is Toggle Off Icon (OFF).
Data Reference Key

Using the Data Reference Key option, data from another component populates the Dropdown component. You'll most often do this with a Data Table component. Add your data to the Data Table. Then, reference the Data Table in your Dropdown's configuration window.

Think of this as a hybrid option of using Values and Data Collections to populate your Dropdown. You still use data stored in Unqork, but it's data from your module instead of a Data Collection.

Setting

Description

Data Reference Key

Enter the Property ID  of the component that you're pulling data from.

Value Property

If a data set includes a column for values, enter the column's name here.

If not specified, the application uses the data drawn using the Label Path setting below.

Label Path

This field refers to the option labels to pull. If you're pulling from a Data Table component, enter the column header in this field.

Refresh On

This field displays a list of the other components in your module. You can select a component here to cause your Dropdown to refresh. When your end-user interacts with the selected component, the Dropdown resets.

Here, you can also select Any Change. This refreshes the Dropdown if your end-user interacts with any of your components.
Data Storage

Setting

Description

Store Data in Database

The Store Data in Database setting affects how data persists through your application. When set to Toggle On Icon (ON), Unqork stores values entered into the field to the database (server-side submission). This occurs in three scenarios:

  • Navigating between Panels in a Navigation component. On navigation between pages (Panels), the component’s value saves to the database.

  • Triggering a module save event using a Button component with an Action Type of Save.

  • Navigating between screens of a workflow. On navigation between screens, the component’s value saves to the database.

NOTE  By default, workflows persist data from all fields in the client-side submission when navigating between screens. However, only values from fields with Store Data in Database enabled store in the server-side submission.

Set the toggle to Toggle Off icon (OFF) when you don’t want to store the values from this field in the database.

NOTE  When using a Plug-In to remote execute a module, ensure data moving between modules is persistent. You can optionally enable Store Data in Database for components in the source module. But any components in the API module whose values are included in an API response must have Store Data in Database enabled. When a component’s data is not persistent, the data isn't included in an API call's response. So, Plug-Ins or external services requesting data from the API module can't receive non-persistent data in the response. To learn more about Store Data in Database in the context of API modules, see the panelResponse Panel section of the API Specification Snippet article in our In-Product Help.

TIP  Store Data in Database also affects what data is tracked using Unqork’s built-in tracker. When the Enable Tracker and Track Value toggles are set to Toggle On Icon (ON) in Module Settings, only values from fields with Store Data in Database enabled are tracked.

Actions Panel

A static image dispaying the Dropdown component's Actions settings.
(click to expand image)

Triggers

Setting

Description

Trigger

To set up a trigger, enter the Property ID of your chosen logic component into this field. When the end-user performs an action on the current component, the triggered component fires.

Validation Panel

A static image dispaying the Dropdown component's Validation settings.
(click to expand image)

Input Required

Setting

Description

Required

When set to Toggle On Icon (ON), the end user must enter a value in the component's visible fields. Set the toggle to Toggle Off icon (OFF) when an entry is optional.

By default, the Required toggle is set to Toggle Off icon (OFF).

Required Error Message

A custom error message that displays below a required field. The error message displays when the end-user tries to save or submit the module without completing the required field.

Advanced Panel

A static image dispaying the Dropdown component's Advanced settings.
(click to expand image)

Additional Styling

Setting

Description

Custom CSS Class

Enter a Custom CSS Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for presenting how a HTML or XML document looks to end-users. Class to apply to your component. Use custom CSS to maintain a consistent look and feel if the field or element is part of a template or more than one module.

Updated CSS styling applies to all components that reference this custom class name.

Adding a Dropdown Component

Now, configure a Dropdown component asking about an end-user's education history. The Dropdown includes six options for selection. These instructions assume that you have an open module saved with a title.

1. Drag and drop a Dropdown Component Icon Dropdown component onto the canvas.
2. In the Property ID A Property ID is the unique field ID used by Unqork to track and link components in your module. field, enter educationHistory.
3. In the Label Text Label Text conveys what the input component is and what information it displays. Enter the purpose of the corresponding component or field. field, enter What is the highest level of education you've completed?.

A static image displaying the Dropdown component's Display settings, the Label text is filled out with the following test: "What is the highest level of education you've completed?"

4. Click Data Icon Data.
5. In the Values  table, enter the following:
 

Option Label

Option Value

1

Less than High School

lessThanHighSchool

2

High School/GED

highSchoolGED

3

Associate's Degree

associatesDegree

4

Bachelor's Degree

bachelorsDegree

5

Master's Degree

mastersDegree

6

Higher

higher

A static image displaying the educationHistory Dropdown component's data settings. The Data Values data is filled out.

6. Click Validation Icon Validation.
7. Set Required to Toggle On (ON).
8. Click Save & Close.

Your Dropdown component looks like the following in Express View Express View is how your end-user views you application. Express View also lets you preview your applications to test your configuration and view the styling. After configuring a module, click Preview in the Module Editor to interact with the module in Express View:

Structure of a Dropdown Component's Data

The data structure of a Dropdown's selection is a key value pair. The key is the Property ID name of the component, and the value is stored as a string.

A static image displaying the data structure of a Dropdown component in Inspect (Console) view.

Resources