Conditional Formatting on multiple controls?

[random]

In order to provide a "read-only" mechanism for a form, I've included a
"status" field in the form. the field is automatically set to "submitted"
during submission of the form. It can be changed by the approving manager
thereafter...(the status field itself is only seen by approving managers,
based on user roles when the form opens)

this "status" field gives me the flag I need to set conditional formatting
of control objects to be either disabled, hidden, or read-only upon
subsequent viewing by users based on the status set by the approving manager.

however, this poses a big problem for forms that have many control objects.
and even more so when you have multiple field values in which you want to set
your conditional formatting for.

In my case, I have 5 different possible "status" values

-submitted
-processing
-open
-declined
-approved

I want to set all fields in the form to be set in a
"read-only/hidden/disabled" state when the status is "submitted",
"processing", or "declined".

Problem is: I have like 30-40 control objects in the form. that's basically
120 total times I have to create a conditional formatting line within the
properties of the objects in the form.

there has GOT to be an easier way to apply conditional formatting to
multiple objects? Or setting conditional formatting to an entire view? that
would be the best!

any help is appreciated! otherwise I've got a long night ahead of me....:/

 

[Scott L. Heim [MSFT]]

Hi,

Unfortunately we do not have the option to apply a "read-only" flag to an
entire View; however, if most of the controls can be in a state of either
visible or hidden, you can place those controls in a "Section" control and
then apply Conditional Formatting to the section control.

I realize this will not work for those that need to be just read-only but
it may help cut down on some of the expressions you need to create.

I hope this helps!

Scott L. Heim
Microsoft Developer Support

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[random]

Hi Scott...

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I really do appreciate the prompt
responses (especially when working on projects under tight deadlines and you
run into an obstacle)

I guess i'll need to do it as I expected. Thanks for confirming though. And
if possible, this would be a great feature request for future service
packs/updates of InfoPath. Having the ability to set
"read-only/hidden/disable" expressions for an entire view would be very
useful for many situations...

cheers!

 

[Scott L. Heim [MSFT]]

Hi,

No problem - glad to help.

With regard to making a View "read only" this is an item we have had
requests for and are looking into the feasibility for a future version.

Thanks for the input!

Scott L. Heim
Microsoft Developer Support

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.