Fields in the Form Designer

When you edit the default generated forms of a resource action or a service blueprint, you can add various predefined new fields to the form. This way, you can extend the workflow presentation and functionality.

If an input parameter is defined in the vCenter Orchestrator workflow, in vCloud Automation Center it appears on the default generated form. If you do not want to use the default generated fields in the form, you can delete them and drag and drop new fields from the palette. If you want to replace a field, the ID that you enter for the new field must be the same as the ID of the field you are replacing. This way, the new field is mapped to the workflow input parameter.

You can add new fields, other than the ones that were generated based on the vCenter Orchestrator workflow inputs, so that you can extend the workflow presentation and functionality in the following cases:

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When you want to extend the default generated form by adding constraints to the existing fields

For example, you can create a new drop-down menu and name it dd. You can also create predefined options of Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Custom. If there is a predefined field, such as CPU, you can add the following constraints to this field:

■	If dd equals Gold, then CPU is 2000 MHz
■	If dd equals Silver, then CPU is 1000 MHz
■	If dd equals Bronze then CPU is 500 MHz
■	If dd equals Custom, the CPU field is editable, and the consumer can specify a custom value

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When you want to extend the default generated form by adding new fields that are handled in the vCenter Orchestrator workflow as global parameters

For instance, the workflow provides an integration with a third-party system and the workflow developer defined input parameters to be handled in the general case, but has also provided a way for passing custom fields. For example, in a scripting box, all global parameters that start with my3rdparty are handled. Then, if the service architect wants to pass specific values for consumers to provide, the service architect can add a new field named my3rdparty_CPU.

New Fields in the Resource Action or Service Blueprint Form
Field	Description
Text field	Single-line text box
Text area	Multi-line text box
Link	Field in which consumers enter a URL
Email	Field in which consumers enter an email address
Password field	Field in which consumers enter a password
Integer field	Text box in which consumers entre an integer You can make this field a slider with a minimum and maximum value, as well as an increment.
Decimal field	Text box in which consumers enter a decimal You can make this field a slider with a minimum and maximum value, as well as an increment.
Date & time	Text boxes in which consumers specify a date (by selecting a date from a calendar menu) and can also select the time (by using up and down arrows)
Check box	Check box
Yes/No	Drop-down menu for selecting Yes or No
Drop-down	Drop-down menu
List	List
Check box list	Check box list
Radio button group	Group of radio buttons
Search	Search text box that auto completes the query and where consumers select an object
Tree	Tree that consumers use to browse and select available objects
Map	Map table that consumers use to define key-value pairs for properties

You can also use the Section header form field to split form pages in sections with separate headings and the Text form field to add read-only informational texts.