External Reference
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    External Reference


      Article Summary

      The External Reference form field enables Quixy to retrieve and display data from an external database within the application using External App References. The field acts as a gateway that allows for seamless access and utilization of external data within the app.

      There are two types of External Reference:

      1. External Drop-down (External Lookup)
      2. External App Reference

      External Lookup and External App Reference are two functionalities that allow an app to retrieve data from external databases. While they share a common purpose, they differ in the type of data they bring in. External Lookup is designed to bring in single-columned values such as names or city names. On the other hand, External App Reference is used to fetch multi-columned data, enabling the app to access a wider range of information from external databases.

      External Drop-down

      • On the form builder, under references section, drag the External Reference form field and place it on the canvas.
      • In the External Reference field properties, select the category as External Drop-down.
      • Provide a name to the field.
      • Select the intended External Lookup and select the default value.
      • Select the Data Behavior: The "Data Behavior" property is used when you have a drop-down menu in a table, and each record has its drop-down menu.
        • There are two options for how the drop-down menu behaves: Show all values and Exclude selected values. Suppose you select "Show all values". In that case, the platform will display all the drop-down options for every record in the table/grid, even if the user has already selected a particular option. This means the user can select the same option multiple times if needed.
        • If you select "Exclude selected values", the platform will hide the drop-down options the user has already chosen in previous records. This means that the user cannot select the same option multiple times and will only see the drop-down options they have not yet chosen.
        • In summary, the "Data Behavior" property controls the dropdown menus' behavior in a table. Depending on your configuration, the platform will either show all the possibilities regardless of previous selections or hide the previously selected options to prevent the user from choosing them again.
      EXAMPLE

      Let's say you have a table of products with a drop-down menu for the product category. Each row represents a different product, and the dropdown menu allows you to select the category for that product.

      Suppose you select "Show all values" as the data behavior. In that case, the platform will display all the categories in the drop-down menu for every product, even if the same category has been selected for a previous product. So if you choose "Electronics" for the first product, "Electronics" will still be an option for the drop-down menu for all the remaining products.

      Suppose you select "Exclude selected values" as the data behavior. In that case, the platform will hide the category selected for a previous product from the drop-down menu for the following products. So if you choose "Electronics" for the first product, "Electronics" will not be an option for the drop-down menu for the remaining products.

      • Enable Don't Show property if you wish to hide/not show the field to the end-user.
      • Enable Required Field if you wish to make the field mandatory and end-users must not neglect it.

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      External App Reference

      • On the form builder, under references section, drag the External Reference form field and place it on the canvas.
      • In the External Reference field properties, select the category as External App Reference.
      • Select the intended External App Reference which is obtaining the data from the intended 3rd party database.
      • Choose the referenced output elements that you want to obtain from the 3rd party database.
      • Provide a name to the field and save the details.
      • You will see the output fields appear on the form builder, re-arrange the fields to your convenience.





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