Dictionary Srch Hlp behaves differently in 2 scenarios

[Former Member]

Hey Folks,

Scenario

I needed to use a dictionary search help in 2 of my scenarios:

Towards this, I defined an altogether new Search Help.

The new search help has 3 importing params and 2 exporting params. This search help works fine standalone.

Now the usage of this search help happens in 2 views.

I have View 1 whose context node is mapped to a structure. I attached the search help created to one of the fields of the structure.

View 1 is a table, with cell editor for one of the columns being an input field mapped to the attribute mentioned above. When I click on F4 on this cell, the search help promptly picks up the importing parameters from the other columns in the row as defaults these values for the filter and gives me the hitlist based on the filter. On selection of the field, the search help promptly populates the input field in question. So far, so good

I have another structure S, which is mapped to a context node defined in the component controller of View 2. Now , a field A in structure S already has an associated Search Help which is of no use to me in my screens.

I did not attach the newly defined search help to the field A in the structure S, since there are others using this structure and need the original search help attached to it. Instead I defined it for the corresponding attribute in the context node. I selected the Input Help mode as 'Dictionary Search Help' for the attribute.

View 2 is a group of elements. The lead selection has been appropriately set here, since all the values pertaining to one element of the context node are being displayed. One of these elements is an input element attached to the afore mentioned context attribute.

Problem

Now on click of F4, I do get my hit list, but I do not have any of the filter values preset in the search help despite the values corresponding to the search help import parameters being populated in respective attributes of the context element selected. However I can still hit a search and get my hitlist without any problems. But the worst part is that, on selection of the values in the search help, the same is not being reflected back into the input field in the screen.

The data types of the search help parameters are same as that defined for the respective attributes in the context node.What am I missing here?

Whew

Have been wracking my brains on this for sometime now, but to no avail. Exhausted my last bit of energy in typing this out . Any pointers would be helpful.

Cheers,

Puja.

[thomas_jung]

>I did not attach the newly defined search help to the field A in the structure S, since there are others using this structure and need the original search help attached to it. Instead I defined it for the corresponding attribute in the context node. I selected the Input Help mode as 'Dictionary Search Help' for the attribute.

That's the problem. The search help will only process importing and exporting values from the same context node and based upon the underlying Data Dictionary structure. Taken directly from the online help:

Be aware that import and export parameters for the search help are determined only within the same context node (see also Transport of Values for the Input Help), and even then only if a Dictionary structure is assigned to the node.

Therefore you can change the search help assignment within the context instead of what is imported from the DDic Structure, but you will lose the ability to do importing and exporting values.

>But the worst part is that, on selection of the values in the search help, the same is not being reflected back into the input field in the screen.

Now that is a little stranger. I suspect that may caused due to confusion of the system becuase the underlying DDic Structure does have a search help. However I wouldn't have expected that to happen.

Personally I would suggest that you create a new structure where you can control the search help assignment and see if that solves your problem.

[Former Member]

Hi Thomas,

Bingo! You were right about the ability of the importing /exporting being lost. I created a new structure and updated all places where this had to be reflected.

The filtering in the search help works fine now. Thanks a million.

However, I am still not being able to get to populate the selected value from the search help back to the input field on which the F4 is associated. I have no idea why this could be happening in the first place.

Regards,

Puja.

[Former Member]

The mapping never worked automatically. Finally, as a quick fix I had to manually code for the value population in the WDDOMODIFYVIEW method. An ugly way to fix it...but I was bound by time limitations.

Regards,

Puja