Updating ReadOnly and Disabled Fields

This is a repost + comments from an article by Ryan Farley. Many thanks to him and the information he puts out. The full article is located here >>. Relevant portions are copied below.

When you need to set fields disabled or readonly at runtime, you need to keep in mind the type of field you use. Setting a HTML input field is a simple line of Javascript, however, the type of CRM field you've chosen will have an impact on exact items you need to change at runtime. I personally like the look of disabled over readonly. A disabled control will show it's value greyed, indicating to the user that they cannot modify it's contents. A readonly field appears normal. The user only finds out that they cannot change it's value until they attempt to do so.

Use the following code to toggle the field status -

// set it as readonly crmForm.all.new_textfield.readOnly = true; // OR set it as disabled crmForm.all.new_textfield.disabled = true;

 

Here’s the tricky part. By default, read-only fields aren’t saved back to the database. Makes sense, right. However, what if you’re updating a field with some code and want that value saved even though you don’t want the user to be able to change it?

Use the ForceSubmit action.

crmForm.all.<field>.DataValue="some value";

crmForm.all.<field>.ForceSubmit = true;

Setting defaults for System Fields in CRM

In Dynamics CRM v4.0, the system fields don’t allow you to set a default value. Unfortunate, but there are ways around it.

Add the following code to the OnLoad event for the form. Add as many defaults as you need. The code checks to see if this is a new form (CRM_FORM_TYPE_CREATE) and then sets the values you provide.

//Set default values for system fields
var CRM_FORM_TYPE_CREATE = "1";

if (crmForm.FormType==CRM_FORM_TYPE_CREATE)
   {
   crmForm.all.fieldname.DataValue = 60;
   }

Requiring 1 of X fields in CRM

There may be times when you don’t want to require one specific field to contain data, but at least one in a group. An example would be deciding that we can’t enter a lead if we don’t have a way to contact the lead – phone number, email, mobile, etc.

What we have to do is make sure that at least one of the contact fields for a lead contain data. There’s no way to make sure this happens. We could set them all Business Recommended, but that tells the user that they should all be filled in if possible and that’s not what we need.

Gather the actual names of the fields you want in the required group.

Use the following code to require at least one of the fields to contain data in order to save. Note that this example is based on the Lead form. Place the code in the OnSave event for the form.

The first portion is a concatenated If statement that checks each of the fields for data. If the entire statement evaluates as false, then the second portion of the code pops a prompt to the user letting them know why the save failed and then stops the save process.

Also, the if statement is all on one line, even though it wraps below and

//Contact Check
//Check for at least one contact method
{
if (crmForm.all.telephone1.DataValue==null && crmForm.all.emailaddress1.DataValue==null && crmForm.all.mobilephone.DataValue==null && crmForm.all.telephone3.DataValue==null && crmForm.all.telephone2.DataValue==null && crmForm.all.websiteurl.DataValue==null)
{
alert("Provide at least one phone number or an email address");
event.returnValue=false;
return false;
}
}