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It is quite straightforward to use Designer and create IDM request/approval forms that have statically defined checkbox or picklist options:

• Add an multi-valued CheckboxPicklist or Picklist field to both, request and approval forms
• Store the user-requested choices into flowdata by adding a request "Post activity" mapping item
• Use the approval "Pre activity" mapping to retrieve the requested choices into the approval form with flowdata.getObject

In this approach, you're hard-coding the choices into the CheckboxPicklist field, while the requested choices are transported through flowdata.

So far, so good.

Things become trickier, when you do not have a static list of choices that can be hard-coded in Designer.
Assume, your checkbox or picklist choices need to be dynamically generated through a DAL list or query.

Doing this in the request form isn't a big problem, since you can simply use the "Pre Activity" mapping activity to load the list, or you create a little onload() event script with a line like

// field:onload()
IDVault.globalList( field.getName(), "myDalGlobalList" );

//

The dynamic options are displayed when the form loads and the users can happily make their choices

Now, for the approval form you need to differentiate two cases:

• a) the approver just needs to see the requester's choice, then approve/deny the request.
• b) the approver needs to be able to modify the selected options before approving/denying the request.

Case a) still is simple: you do not need to load the whole set of available options, you just need to show what was selected by the requester.
To retrieve this selection and display it on the form, you can use a read-only MV form field like a Picklist or a TextArea, and fill the field during a "Pre Activity" mapping activity
You could, for example, have used a Request checkbox list field "myChoices", then saved the user input during a Request Post Activity Mapping into "flowdata.start/request_form/myChoices". Then the Approval Pre Activity Mapping could retrieve the data with flowdata.getObject('start/request_form/myChoices'). Easy enough.

Case b) Now, this outlined approach will not work, when you want to allow the approver to edit the requester's selection. You could still load the available options from a global list during onload() and try to get the requestor's input in the Approval Pre Activity; This will fail, since loading the valid options with onload() happens after trying to set the requester's selection in the Pre Mapping. The selected options are lost, since they cannot be validated.

However, you could create some ECMAScript code that allows you to dynamically load the available options in request and approval forms, while still being able to transport the requested options to the approval form.

Here's the way to proceed:

• Use identical field names for the picklists in request and approval forms
• Load the available checkbox/picklist options in request and approval forms during a field:onload() event according to your needs, e.g., by adding code like

  // field:onload()
  IDVault.globalList( field.getName(), "myDalGlobalList" );
  
  //

• Add one hidden text area field to both, the request and approval form. This field is used to transport the choices of all other checkbox/picklist fields via flowdata. You only need one such hidden field, and it can take care of one or multiple list fields.
  During testing you may want to set it to visible, but in production it should be hidden.
  In this example we create a field named "hiddenTextArea"

  The Request Post Activity Mapping for this field stores the contents into "flowdata.start/request_form/hiddenTextArea";
  The Approval Pre Activity Mapping for this field retrieves the contents with "flowdata.getObject('start/request_form/hiddenTextArea')"

• Now we need some ECMAscript logic to store the user input from all selected checkbox/picklists into that hidden field, then to restore the selection on the approval form.

  For this purpose we create a script that stores and extracts MV choices into a transportable text. Here's one way to do achieve this:

  In designer, use the "scripts" tab of both, request and approval form, create an inline script and copy this scriptlet into both (those of you who are more familiar with scripting will know better places to store the scripts):

  // form:inline script
  
  var delimFields = "|";
  var delimFieldname = ":";
  var delimValues = ";";
  
  /** stored a field selection to hidden helper field
       call during onchange of the MV list
       e.g., storeSelection( form, field, "hiddenTextArea" );
  **/
  function storeSelection( form, field, targetFieldName )
  {
     try
     {
        var newVal = field.getName() + delimFieldname + field.getValues().join( delimValues );
  
        // extract packed string into object
        var current = new Object();
        var varAll = form.getValue( targetFieldName );
        var varFlds = varAll.split( delimFields );
        for ( var i = 0; i < varFlds.length; i++ )
        {
           var valFld = varFlds[i].split( delimFieldname );
           if ( valFld.length < 2 ) continue;
           current[ valFld[0] ]	= varFlds[i];
        }
        current[ field.getName() ] =  newVal; // update or overwrite
  
        // create new packed string
        var newObj = "";
        for ( var fldId in current )
        {
           newObj += ( newObj.length>0 ? delimFields : '' ) + current[ fldId ];
        }
        form.setValues( targetFieldName, newObj )
     }
     catch ( e )
     {
        form.showDebugMsg( e.toString() );
     }
  }
  
  /** extract a stored selection from hidden helper field
       call during onload of the MV list
       after dynamically loading the options
       e.g., retrieveSelection( form, field, "hiddenTextArea" );
  **/
  function retrieveSelection( form, field, targetFieldName )
  {
     try
     {
        var varAll = form.getValue( targetFieldName );
        var varFlds = varAll.split( delimFields );
        for ( var i = 0; i < varFlds.length; i++ )
        {
           var valFld = varFlds[i].split( delimFieldname );
           if ( valFld.length < 2 ) continue;
           // identify the relevant field
           if ( valFld[0] != field.getName() ) continue;
           // extract the field choices
           var newVals = valFld[1].split( delimValues );
           field.select( newVals );
           break;
        }
     }
     catch ( e )
     {
        form.showDebugMsg( e.toString() );
     }
  }
  
  //

  Now we're nearly done.

• On the request form, we need to call the script to save the users' selection.
  For each relevant MV checkbox or picklist on the request form, add a field:onchange() event with this code

  // onchange()
  storeSelection( form, field, "hiddenTextArea" );
  
  //

• On the approval form, we need to call the script to restore the users' selection.
  For each relevant MV checkbox or picklist on the approval form, add an field:onload() event with this code

  // onload()
  
  // first load your dynamic options - modify with the respective call to load your option list
  IDVault.globalList( field.getName(), "myDalGlobalList" );
  
  // now restore the users' selection from the request form
  retrieveSelection( form, field, "hiddenTextArea" );
  
  //

Versions:
IDM / RBPM 3.5 / 3.6 / 3.7
IDM Designer 3.5

Disclaimer: As with everything else at Cool Solutions, this content is definitely not supported by Novell (so don't even think of calling Support if you try something and it blows up).

It was contributed by a community member and is published "as is." It seems to have worked for at least one person, and might work for you. But please be sure to test, test, test before you do anything drastic with it.