1) How do you delete a user defined field completely?
2) How do you delete a user defined form completely?
3) How do you rename a user defined field?
3) How do you "move" a user defined field that is
available in a folder to become available in a specific
Form/Item. I have a situation where a user defined field
is actually on a form but is not available when sorting
the items.
Many thanks
This is a tricky problem, to say the least. When you define a field,
you can create it as either a 1) User Defined Field in the Form or 2)
User-Defined Field in the Folder. UDFs defined in the Folder will
appear in the list of UDFs defined in the form if data has been added
to the field. Usually, in design mode, you get a UDF defined in the
folder. But, if you specifically open the UDFs in the Form list, and
use the New Button from that list, you can get it added as just a UDF
in the form.
Usually, you want your fields defined as UDFs in the Folder, because
you can search on them, and other things, which you can't do with UDFs
defined only in a Form. You don't really convert a UDF in a Form to a
UDF in a folder. What you do is go through the same process using the
list that creates a UDF in the Folder, using the same name and type,
etc. All existing UDFs that were defined just in the form will now be
treated as UDFs defined in the Folder.
If you design a form in Folder X, creating all fields as UDFs in the
Folder, and then use the Forms Manager to move the form design to
Folder Y, all the UDFs in the form design become UDFs defined in the
form when it is used in that folder. The recover the capabilities of
UDFs defined in the Folder, you have to use the View | Define a View
process to recreate those fields in the folder design. (I told you
that it was complicated, no?)
Deleting UDFs from the Folder design is done in much the same way,
using View | Modify this view, and delete the fields from the View.
The existing fields of that name in items in the folder will now be
UDFs defined only in the form.
To completely delete a UDF defined in the form, you have to find all
instances of data items created with the form, and set all the field
values to null. Then you have to redesign the form to not contain the
field, so no new instances of the field will be created, in field or
folder. So it gets tricky.
A real problem exists when custom message forms are created. Those
fields don't get created in the folder in which you design the form,
but in the Inbox, and the names from all your custom forms get put in
the same namespace. Lots of fun!
Hollis D. Paul [MVP - Outlook]
(e-mail address removed)
Using Virtual Access 4.52 build 277 (32-bit), Windows 2000 build 2195
http://search.support.microsoft.com/kb/c.asp?FR=0&SD=TECH&LN=EN-US
Mukilteo, WA USA
