Filling the List items

This applies to dropdownlist and multi-select listbox. Both of these elements allow free editing of the list items.

Here is the simple format to follow while creating the list

In the  'List Items' tab you can enter the items for the list. The simple format is one item per line, like this:

Select ...

Red

Blue

Green

Magenta

Black

If you want the values to be different from the item name, separate it with a comma

Example:

Select ...,0

Red, #f00

Blue, #00f

Green, #0f0

Magenta, #f0f

Black, #000

etc.

Note: If you have separate values, it will be the selected item's value

that will be used in the rest of the system - in the email, database, calculations etc. for example, in the colors list above, if your user selects Green, what you get in your email will be #0f0. If this looks confusing to you, do not have a separate value for the items. Just keep it simple list without separate value.

If you want to use the list as part of a calculation, use the value maps feature to map the selected list item to a number. See this page for more info.

Using comma in the list item name

If the item name or the value needs to contain comma, place the item in double-quotes:

 
Select ...

"Red, Green, Blue"

"Purple, Yellow, White"

Having items selected by default

If you want some items selected by default, have a third item as selected or y

Example:

Magenta, #f0f,selected

Black, #000

or, to keep the name and value the same,

Green

Magenta,,selected

Black

Or

Green

Magenta,,y

Black,,y

White

For dropdownlist, only one item can be selected at a time. If you have selected more than one items, the first item is taken as selected.

Using Certain Letters (, and ") in the List

If the item itself contains comma, enclose the item in double quotes ( " ).

Examples:

"$2,000"

"10,000",10000,selected

"12,999","12999",selected

"square, rectangle, random shape"

If the item contains double quotes( " ), use two quotes instead of one and enclose the item within double quotes.

For example, if you want to add an item 12"3' to the item list, it should be "12""3' "

More Examples:

"91""2' "

"9,1""2' "

"9.99"" "

"The ""Real"" Experience"

Cascaded Lists

Cascaded lists change the items when its parent list's selection is changed.

Suppose the parent list contains items like this:

Select ...

Parent 1

Parent 2

Parent 3

Parent 4

The cascaded list can contain items like this:

Select ...

Parent 1>

{

Item 1.1

Item 1.2

Item 1.3

Item 1.4

}

Parent 3>

{

Item 3.1

Item 3.2

Item 3.3

Item 3.4

}

Fixed 1

Fixed 2

Fixed 3

Notice that not all the parent items have child items in the cascaded list. You can have items that will always be present, irrespective of the selection in the parent list too. (Such as the Fixed 1, Fixed 2 and Fixed 3 above)

See How to create a cascaded list for more examples

Using comma and double-quotes (, and ") in the List

if the parent item has , or " (comma or double-quotes), you have to enclose the whole item in double quotes.

To escape double quotes in the string, add another double-quotes: See the example below:

" 5"" 6'   >"

{

none

" 1"" 3' "

" 2"" 7' "

}