Model editor

See the Zero resource model section of the Developer's Guide for details about the fields, attributes, and filtered collections associated with a ZRM model.

The model editor work in conjunction with the Zero resource form editor,which comes to realiation in the following ways:

• Top-down approach - A form is created in the form editor is it acts as a base from which a model is derived. If you choose to use this approach, the generating form wil be automatically mapped to the first model that was derived from the form
• Bottom-up approach - A model is created in the model editor is it acts as a base from which a form is derived. If you choose to use this approch, all the generated forms will be mapped to the initial model

The following screen capture shows the initial ZRM Editor screen.

Fields Definition

You can create fields using the palette located on the right. When you click a palette item, a new field of the selected type is created. The following types are supported:

• string
• boolean
• date
• date-time
• time
• decimal
• float
• integer

The field you created has an initial default name. You can use in-place editing to change the properties displayed in the table. To start in-place editing, double-click the value you want to change.

The following screen capture is an example containing field entries.

You can edit field properties by clicking the Properties icon. The Properties dialog opens.
There is a list of common properties: name, label, required, description, default_value, options, readonly, and primary_key.

Each field type has its own special properties:

• String - max_length and format
• Date - auto_create and auto_create
• Decimal - max_digits and decimal_places

The Properties dialog contains two tabs: Basic and Advanced. The Basic tab allows you to edit frequently used common properties.

The Advanced tab allows you to edit rarely used common properties and the specific properties for the field type.

You can delete a field by clicking the Delete icon.

Filtered Collections Definition

You can define and manage filtered collections. Click the Create new collection icon to create a new filtered collection. The collection is created with a default title and without filters.

You can change the collection title using in-place editing. Click the title to start editing.

The collection is built from a list of filters. You can define the filter list by clicking the Properties icon, or by clicking the filters description text. The dialog for an empty collection is shown in the following screen capture:

To add a new filter, click the Click to add a new filter link. Choose the field for filtering, the operation, and parameters.

To remove a filter or collection, click the Delete icon.