Section form
Completing the HTML tab

Field

Description

Select in most cases to allow Process Commander to generate HTML text for the section based on information in the Layout tab.

Hand-edited HTML in section rules can introduce complex, difficult-to-debug processing into your application. Clear this check box only when necessary. Following the guardrails, avoid hand-edited HTML in section rules when other approaches can achieve the same result.

Clear this in rare situations when you want to edit the generated HTML to incorporate unusual or advanced features. To edit the HTML:

1. Save the section form once with this box selected.
2. Clear the box. Save again.
3. Click the pencil icon () to start your HTML editor.
4. Make your changes to the generated HTML, noting carefully portions of the generated HTML marked as not to be changed.
5. Exit the HTML editor to save your HTML changes in the HTML Source field.
6. Save the rule again.

If this rule is later saved with the Auto-generated HTML? box selected, your HTML changes are overwritten.

Select to generate portlet-compliant HTML that can be displayed by a portal server. Portlet-compliant HTML meets the requirements of Java Specification Request 168, which defines the portlet standard.

This box is available only when the Auto-generated HTML? box is selected.

A portlet-compliant section form can be sent to an external portal server through Service Portlet rules and displayed in a portlet window.

Select to indicate that at runtime, user presentation of this section is to be localized based on field value rules in a language-specific RuleSet text elements.

This check box is available only when Auto Generated HTML? is selected and Generate for is set to JSP.

For each locale, you must add field value rules in such a RuleSet to support presentation of this section. Typically, use the Localization wizard and the Rules Inspector tool to identify, create, and maintain these field value rules. See:

• Internationalization and localization — Concepts and terms
  
• About the Localization wizard
• Localizing forms and reports with the Field Value Inspector

When selected, the generated HTML calls the PublicAPI Java function getLocalizedTextForString() at runtime to convert text in the pyCaption, pyButtonLabel, pyActionLabel, pyActionPrompt and other properties to a locale-specific value.

Typically, the system sets this field to HTML or JSP, to indicate whether the HTML source is to contain HTML directives or JSP tags. For new section rules, the initial value is JSP.

Use of JSP tags in section rules offers superior performance and other advantages over directives. Although both directives and JSP tags are supported, JSP tags are recommended for new development. Conversion of existing section rules that use directives to functionally equivalent rules that use JSP tags is straightforward. Converting from Directives to JavaServer Page tags.

If the Auto-generated HTML? box is not selected, use only JSP tags or directives — not both — in the custom HTML you add to this rule. Set this field to reflect your choice.

If this rule is circumstance-qualified or time-qualified, make this Generate For value match the Generate For value of the base rule. The base rule and the qualified rules must all use JSP tags or all use directives.

Do not save the rule form if you have composed HTML that contains both JSP tags and directives.

The setting on this rule may differ in other section rules referenced in this section rule. For example, a section rule that uses JSP tags may include a section rule that uses directives.

Indicate which browser types can correctly process the HTML code from this rule.

When you specify that the code is to be auto-generated, Process Commander includes only those tags that can be displayed across browser types, the value of this field is set to IE6+ and FireFox2+, and the value is read-only.

If you edit the generated code or manually provide the code for the rule, you determine and specify the browser types that can display it. When you do not use auto-generated code, Process Commander does not validate your HTML code. You must verify that it can be displayed by the browser types you specify.

The Browser Compatibility Report in the Preflight tool uses this field to determine what percentage of the rules in your application provide cross-browser support.

Upgrade note: If your application includes auto-generated section rules that you created in a version prior to V5.4 that include only sections and properties where the value of this field is set to IE6+ and FireFox2+, open and resave such section rules in V5.4 to have this field correctly reflect the setting.

This field is available when Auto-Generated HTML? is not selected.

Select ON to indicate that you have designed and implemented your HTML to meet your accessibility requirements.

This rule is included in the Preflight Accessibility Report. See Using the Application Preflight tool.

At runtime, Process Commander uses stream processing to evaluate the JSP tags or directives in this source HTML (which reference properties and other rules such as HTML fragment rules, HTML rules, HTML Property rules and section rules) in the context of current clipboard contents and static files.

Process Commander then sends the resulting HTML to the HTTP server, which transmits it and the associated static files (images, scripts, and style sheets) to the Internet Explorer browser on the client workstation.

To edit the generated source:

1. Save the rule form once with the Auto-generated HTML? box selected.
2. Clear the Auto-generated HTML? box.
3. Click the pencil icon () to start your HTML editor and override generated HTML code with custom code.
4. Exit from the HTML editor and save the rule form again.

This button appears only after you save the form when the Generate For value is HTML and this rule is created by a Save As operation. See Converting from directives to JavaServer Page tags.