Create a Form that displays the Record ID

bhotrock

When building a Form that includes a list, it's possible to select the Record ID as an element to display. However, when building a Form, in the format of a record data entry form, or a detailed display of an existing record, the ID field is not listed in the options to drag into the layout.

This makes sense on a form that is creating a new record, since no ID exists until the record is saved. However, I would like to build a form that displays various fields from an existing record, including the ID (as a Read-Only field).

I'm still new to REI3 and am probably missing something simple. Any suggestions are welcome! Thank you!

gabriel

Hello again 🙂

In most applications, IDs are not something users are supposed to see or care about. Usually records are referenced by descriptors (like unique names or combination of names) as IDs themselves are not telling you anything about a record.

There are very few reasons to change an ID, especially by users on a form; because of this we decided to not offer ID fields - this results in less fields to sort through in the form editor and less chance for people to make IDs accessible and possibly break their apps by doing so.

Currently the ID of the opened record is only visible in the URL (its the last number shown).

May I ask, why you would like to make the ID visible/accessible?

bhotrock

gabriel Thank you for your response! Just to clarify, I would only present the record ID as a read-only attribute. So the risks related with changing the ID should be avoided.

As to the question of why... I am working on replacing an older, non-supported system. So my first answer is: The old system showed the record ID, and they want to mimic the old system as much as possible. 😀

But more seriously... The information in this system is currently used along with another application in the business process. There have been times that names or other attributes were changed without noting the change, and it was helpful to have the record ID visible as a way to confirm that this was the same record, with a new "name".

I understand the logic behind the decision to not expose it. And it is not something that will keep REI3 from working for us. I can work around it with either a second attribute, or simply relying on a List view which does allow to see the record ID. I'll just have to see what they prefer. I just thought I'd ask because I might be missing something since I'm so new to the system.

Thanks again for the information! I'm learning more each day from the forums here. I really appreciate all you do!

gabriel

Let us know, if the need becomes larger. It is possible to show the record ID in the current version via frontend functions - it does take some work to apply for each form but would solve your requirement.

If you find that this becomes a strong necessary, we can find ways to add it to the standard.

bhotrock

Thank you!