Split a form into steps — gull system handbook

The Steps and Container elements in a gull system form: pages, navigation, Applies when, Next and Previous step buttons, form variables.

Split a form into steps

A Steps element is several pages in one form; a Container groups fields. Both can be hidden by a rule, contents included.

Steps

1. Insert Steps from the palette. Under Properties → Main → Containers add pages with Add container and name them.
2. Drag fields onto each page. Fields inside a page behave as anywhere else.
3. Choose the Navigation. Bar (tabs on top), Drop-down (a menu), Back / next (two buttons), or Custom buttons — no navigation is drawn and you switch pages with your own buttons whose action is Next step, Previous step or Go to page.
4. Under Default pick the page the form opens on.

Applies when

On a page inside Steps the Visible row is called Applies when. A page whose rule returns FALSE is skipped when stepping — that is how you make an "Accessories" page shown only for some types. Fields on a skipped page send their default value.

Steps in rules

The name of a Steps element returns, in rules, the label of the page on show: `[Wizard] = "Dimensions"` is true while the customer is on the Dimensions page. Useful for a button that should be visible only on the last page.

Container

A frame with a Background, Corner radius and Margin you drag fields into. Its Visible hides everything inside too. It has no value of its own and does not appear in the order.

Form variables

State the form needs only for itself — the current step number, say, when you draw the navigation yourself. Create them on the Form root under Variables, change them with a button's Set variable action (`=[Step]+1`) and read them in rules by name (`[Step] = 2`). A form variable is not part of the order.