InfoPath Dev

Hello,

If I've got a drop-down list that pulls its entries from an external connection.

When it discovers only a SINGLE ENTRY for that list which is different every time and can't be hard-coded into a rule, I'd like it to auto-populate the field with that entry. This can't be too difficult, can it? :)

Similarly, if there is more than one item in the drop-down, is there a way to get it to push the top option as the default?

Thanks!

It actually sounds to me as if you want the same scenario to occur in all instances - if there is just one option, default to that, and if there are many options, default to the first - since the first case (only one option) is equivalent to the second case, this is really straightforward. Just set the default value of your main data source field to the field desired in the secondary data source. By default, if that field repeats, InfoPath should always choose the first instance.

Hilary,

First off - thanks for taking the time to answer! Always appreciated! :)

The issue with what you've suggested - I never know what that exact value will be.  Suppose I have a drop-down list set to go off and get a list of the US Cities today where the temperature was over 80 degrees - States[Temperature > 80].  Every day that might be different. But what I want is for it to choose by default the 'top' city on the list.  So if there is only 1 (Las Vegas let's say), I don't want to have to click in that cell to actually choose Las Vegas - it will be chosen by default.  And if there are more than 1 (Reno and Dallas let's say), I want it to automatically choose the one that's on top of the list (Dallas if I've got it sorted correctly) and if I don't bother clicking, it will choose Dallas by default.

But maybe I'm misinterpreting what you're saying which is normally my issue ... 

Thanks!

InfoPath doesn't care if the secondary data source has one or a hundred rows - the XPath to the field is going to return the first node, unless you've specified with a filter which row you want.

So, let's say I have a secondary data source called "Cities". It has a field called City.

The XPath looks like:

Cities/Row/City

Row is repeating.

My main data source field is called SelectedCity. It is bound to a dropdown control.

The dropdown uses my Cities data source to provide the values to the dropdown.

If I set the default value for SelectedCity (my main data source field) to my secondary data source field:

Cities/Row/City

SelectedCity will always default to the first entry in that data source.

Does this make sense? If not, I can put together a quick sample form.

Hilary,

Excellent!  Thanks a million!

My issue was I have a different Value vs Display Name ... going through the logic you described got me to readjust my focus and then I got 'er working! ;)

Chris.

 

 

 What could I do if these choices are filtered for a particular user?  I can get the default but it gives me all and not just the ones for the particular filter?  Thanks for any direction you can give.