A component can be edited using the graphical component editor. This is virtually identical to the forms editor differing only in that it disables any "Forms only" features (See Component Concepts: Forms only features and Working with Forms for more information)

The component editor is opened either by clicking once on an existing component in the hierarchy tree panel (Business Projects -> GLOBAL -> Components) or as a result of creating a new component from the file menu (File -> New -> Component).

The component editor consists of a component toolbar at the top of the area, which provides component-level functions such as save, delete, test component, edit texts, etc. Additionally, you can right click on the page in the page panel to access the insert one or more page function.

Adding components to a form

Part-page components

Part-page components are added to a form's page either by clicking the Insert part-page component button on the fields on page tool bar (which inserts the component beneath the selected field on page or at the top if nothing is selected) or, by right clicking on the field below which you wish to insert the component and selecting the Insert part-page component menu item from the popup menu. Both of these routes will show you the following dialog box:

Insert part-page component: This shows the selection of part-page components available.

Name prefix: This name will be prefixed to any field name, group name etc, when the component is inserted into the form.

Link / embed: Whether the inserted component instance should retain a link to the original or whether it should just be copied into this form.

One-or-more-pages components

One-or-more-pages components may be added to a form by right clicking on the page button and selecting Insert one-or-more-pages component from the menu.

Insert one-or-more-pages component: This shows the selection of one-or-more-pages components available.

Name prefix: This name will be prefixed to any page name, field name, group name etc when the component is inserted into the form.

Insert after page: Allows you to select the page after which to insert the component (as for inserting a simple new page).

Link / embed: Whether the inserted component instance should retain a link to the original or whether it should just be copied into this form.

Fields-only components

Fields-only components may be added to a form by clicking the Add a fields-only component button on the form toolbar or in the main Form menu. This will show you the following dialog box:

Insert fields-only component: This shows the selection of fields-only components available.

Name prefix: This name will be prefixed to any field name, group name etc when the component is inserted into the form.

Link / embed: Whether the inserted component instance should retain a link to the original or whether it should just be copied into this form.

The components available in the dropdown lists in each of these dialog boxes will depend purely on the component type. The component's type is its type at the moment the insert operation is requested. This may not necessarily be the type with which the component was originally created since a component's type may be changed during its evolution.

Changing a component's type

A one-or-more-pages component can be converted to a part-page component by deleting all pages on the component. This will result in the page control area displaying the message: "No pages".

A part-page component can be converted into a fields-only component by removing all fields on pages.

The reverse of these is also possible. A fields-only component is converted into a part-page component by adding fields onto the page. A part-page component is converted into a one-or-more-pages component by adding pages.

Note: These conversions may only be done if the component is not currently linked into any forms. If it is, Ebase Designer will warn you that the conversion is currently not allowed.

Testing components

Components can be tested in isolation (just like running forms) by clicking the "Test" icon on the component toolbar. This causes the component to be temporarily embedded into a dummy form and run in a browser to allow the designer to test the component's behaviour before adding it to forms or deploying any changes.

Deploying changes in components

Once a component has been linked into a form, it may be modified in isolation and once the designer is happy with the new component, the changes may be deployed to all forms linking to it by clicking the Deploy changes button on the main toolbar. If the forms which are linked to the changed component are currently being edited, a warning message will be displayed asking all forms to be closed before the redeploy can be processed. This is because (a) you don't want other users to be surprised when their forms change unexpectedly in front of their eyes and (b) you want to be sure that all forms linking to the component are up-to-date.

Copying components

Components may be copied (as for forms) by right clicking on the component in the hierarchy tree panel and selecting copy. Components may only be copied within the GLOBAL project.

Deleting components

Components may only be deleted if they are not linked into any forms. Ebase will notify you of any forms which are currently linking to the component when you right click on the component in the hierarchy tree panel and select delete. If you confirm deletion, all existing fields for this component will be completely embedded into the form and all links to the component will be lost.

Static and dynamic lists

Components can include both static and dynamic lists in exactly the same way as for forms. (See Working with Lists for more information)