For example:

A topic is created that contains the name and contact info for a Vendor. A Form checkbox indicates whether the vendor supplies hardware or software or both.

Another topic which describes a particular Server has a form which, among other things, indicates which hardware Vendor supplied the Server. For simplified maintenance, the Values field for the Vendor row in the form could be a which selects a list of all topics which are Vendor type Hardware.

As it stands presently, a in the form appears to work when editing or viewing the form, but does not produce a list results when editing a document that uses the form... the search variable itself appears as a selection option. Adding this feature would mean that the Server form in this example is automatically updated with any new Vendor topics created, instead of requiring someone to add the new Vendor manually.

This Vendor example is a rather specific scenario, but the feature could be applied to virtually anything.

-- MattPounsett - 03 Sep 2003

A patch for this exists in FormattedTWikiFormDataInTopicText.

Usage example:
some prefix text or HTML

Or do you mean a global search over all form fields?

-- ArthurClemens - 03 Sep 2003

Neither. Here's a TWiki Form row from my example above. I've thrown in a few <nop>'s so that this is readable.

where VendorType of Hardware appears in another Form attached to the individual vendor's topic, like thus:

So if I create a topic called SunMicrosystems and check off the Hardware checkbox in its Form, then SunMicrosystems would automatically appear in the first form. The problem right now is that the in the form isn't evaluated by the edit CGI, so instead of being able to select SunMicrosystems as the vendor for my server, I'm presented with the search variable itself.

If it will be easier to visualize, I can build this very quickly in the sandbox. I'm not sure if that's considered Good Style here, though.

-- MattPounsett - 03 Sep 2003

This has also been done in DynamicFormOptionDefinitions - I use it on out BugTrackingWiki

-- SvenDowideit - 04 Sep 2003

You can use the Sandbox web to show a usage scenario.

-- PeterThoeny - 04 Sep 2003

It looks like the work going on in DynamicFormOptionDefinitions covers what I was looking for here. Thanks.

-- MattPounsett - 04 Sep 2003