<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  Bizagi Studio > Process wizard > Define Forms > Form Controls > Control list > Multi Select

Use

The Multi Select control lets you relate multiple records of one entity (entity B) to another one (entity A). The control displays all the records found in the database for entity B, and you can select one or many and associate them with entity A. The association is in one direction: entity A will hold many records of entity B, but not the other way around. You can select each record once only.

 

To be able to create a Multi Select control, entity A and entity B must have a Multiple-Multiple relationships.

 

The Multi Select displays a drop-down list where you can select some or all the records available for entity B.

 

It also displays a search box where you can type the name of a record. As you type, Bizagi displays the records of entity B that match anywhere in the record the text you entered. For instance, if you type "wer" and record B holds a record called "Flower", it appears in the list of results.

 

 

This control differs from the Association Control in the way records are related between entities and the records that are shown:

 

•The Association control is bidirectional: it relates multiple records of entity A to entity B, AND multiple records of entity B to entity A.

The Multi Select is unidirectional: it relates multiple records of entity B to entity A, and not the other way around.

 

•The Association control displays the records of both entities that belong exclusively to the case, and the records are the ones related.

The Multi Select control displays all records saved in the project.

 

Considerations

•To use a Multi Select Control, the entities to be associated must be related using a Multiple-Multiple relationship:

oEntity A (main entity), in the image below is PlanOrchestraTour.

oEntity B (secondary entity), in the image below is WFUSER (or City).

oMultiple-Multiple relationship between Entity A and the Entity B.

•We recommend using Parameter and System entities as Secondary entities (entity B). Since Bizagi displays all records available in the project, using Master entities might compromise the performance of the system.

•Multi select is not supported in the table's columns

 

 

 

Related to attribute types

A Multi Select control must be used with entities that have a multiple-multiple relationship.

 

Properties

Every control has a set of properties that allow to customize its behavior in the Work Portal. However, some properties are exclusive to a specific control. The following properties are exclusive to the Multi Select control:

 

Basic tab

 

 

Advanced tab

 

 

Configuration

 

 

Example

A music company needs to design a process (called Plan Orchestra Tour) to plan the tours for their orchestra. In this process the manager must select the musicians who will be part of the orchestra and the cities that the orchestra will visit. Due to the number of members an orchestra must have, adding each musician in a table will be cumbersome. The Multi Select control makes this an easy task by letting the manager select several musicians at once from a drop down list. This can also apply to the cities.

Each musician is represented in the WFUser entity with an associated instrument.

The M-M relationships must be created in the Data Model as follows.

 

 

You can relate the tour to several musicians and cities by using the Multi Select control.

Follow these steps to configure it:

 

1. In the Forms Designer, drag and drop a Multi Select control from the Controls tab into the form.

 

 

2. When the Control is dropped, a configuration window appears.

 

 

Enter the configuration information:

•Left XPath: Select the XPath to the main Entity. In this case the PlanOrchestraTour process. Keep in mind you cannot select an entity being used as context (For instance, when working in an inner form).

•Right XPath: Select the XPath from the main entity to the collection of the Secondary Entity that contains the records to be displayed. In this case the WFUSER collection.

Navigate through the main entity (PlanOrchestraTour). Select the collection to the WFUser that Bizagi has created by default when the M-M relationship was created.

•Right display attrib: Select the attribute to display from the Secondary entity. This attribute is what end users see when they select a record. In this case we will use fullName.

•Right additional attrib: Select an additional attribute to display. This lets you search for this particular attribute on the search box of the control. In this case we will use the instrument name.

•Right filter: Select a filter for the Secondary entity if necessary, this way a smaller list of records will appear in the Control for the end user to choose from. In this case, we create a basic filter to display only enabled users (enabled is equal to true).

 

 

 

When the configuration is finished, the control appears in the Forms Designer. If the configuration is not finished, the control will not be created and thus will not be shown.

 

 

3. Go to the Work Portal to test the Control.

Select the names of users that you want to add to the tour from the WFUser entity.  In this case we can select:

 

•Billy Cranston (instrument: piano).

•Kimberly Hart (instrument: singer).

•Trini Kwan (instrument: violin).

As you can see, if the available space in the control is to small to show all the selected records it will show a icon. The number displayed on the icon is the number of hidden records.

 

 

You can display all the hidden records by clicking the icon.

 

 

To delete associated records, click the icon on the right of the record that you want to delete.

 

 

Multi Select control in Mobiles

The multi select control is also available in mobiles for both online and offline forms.