# Customizer

Information Sources |

When a panel is set up for custom information, the custom information is displayed automatically in a Custom Information grid whenever the panel is displayed. See Displaying Custom Information.

The information items that are needed to populate the Custom Information grid can come from various sources:

| Application Files | Restricted to Data Dictionary files and are display only
| User Files | Defined by the user and are modifiable
| Formulas | Consist of numeric calculations or text manipulation

The information source and the items to include for the custom definition are specified by using the Update Custom Information window. This is accessed from the Customize window by selecting either the Add button (to add a new item) or the Properties button (to change an existing item).

By using the Update Custom Information window, you can:

- Add or remove information items.
- Change the current properties of existing information items.
- Modify the order in which selected information items are listed.

## Application Files

Additional information from application data files may be included in a custom definition. Application files are restricted to those defined in a Data Dictionary.

To include information from an application data file, select Application File as the Information Source, and then select a File and an Information Item. Security classifications assigned to files or individual file elements may limit the selection offered to a particular user.

The options for including an application data file are:

File | Enter a valid application data file name or click the Query button to select one.
Information Item | Select an item from the drop-down list of elements in the selected file.
Record Identifier | Define a Record Identifier (or key) to access records in the file. If the file key components can be matched to existing panel information, this will be done automatically; otherwise, you must build the key definition by clicking the Build button.
Build | Launches the Record Identifier (Key) Definition window for specifying the literal values, program variables and panel information items whose values can be used to build the key to access records. Key segments may be padded with spaces, and partial values may be used. The original key definition for the file is displayed for reference.
Allow this item to be shared | Select this check box to mark the item as shareable. This means that the item will be displayed in the Merge Customizer Items window, allowing other users to copy it into their custom definitions. (The Allow this item to be shared option was added in PxPlus 2018.)
Display | Specify a display option for numeric values. (Default is Normal.) If the value of the selected element represents a percentage value, select Percent Bar as the Display option and then select a Bar Color. The value will then be displayed as a colored bar followed by the literal value, where a value of 100 (or greater) will create a bar taking up 80% of the Value column width, with 20% left for the literal value. A value of 50 would create a bar half that length, and a value of zero (or less) would display only the literal value. (The Display option was added in PxPlus 2017.)

#### Note:
Application data is for display only and cannot be updated in the Custom Information grid.

## User Files

User files are files with content defined by the user. For information on creating these files, see Custom User Files.

To include information from a user file, select User File as the Information Source, and then select a File and an Information Item. The selection includes public user files for public definitions, and both personal and public user files for personal definitions, although security levels assigned to public user files and/or their individual file elements may limit the selection offered to a particular user.

The options for including a user file are:

File | Enter a valid user file name or click the Query button to select one.
Information Item | Select an item from the drop-down list of elements in the selected file.
Record Identifier | Define a Record Identifier (or key) to identify and access records in the file.
Build | Launches the Record Identifier (Key) Definition window to build keys from literal values, program variables and panel information items. Key segments may be padded with spaces, and partial values may be used.
Allow this item to be shared | Select this check box to mark the item as shareable. This means that the item will be displayed in the Merge Customizer Items window, allowing other users to copy it into their custom definitions. (The Allow this item to be shared option was added in PxPlus 2018.)
Allow update | Select this check box to enter, update and delete information in user files. This option allows user data to be updated as soon as it is entered at run time. To remove a record in a user file at run time, the user must right click on one of the user fields in the Custom Information grid to access the following the Delete options:
Delete fields related to selected user records | Removes the entire record; i.e. all the fields associated with the record, not just the selected item.
Delete All user records currently displayed | Removes the current record from all user files that are displayed in the Custom Information grid.

#### Note:
The contents of user files are updated automatically when a user alters the contents of the Custom Information grid. This logic is entirely separate from the existing logic used to process updates to the panel. See Custom User Files.

## Formulas

Formulas can be used to derive values to be displayed. These can consist of numeric calculations or text manipulation.

To include a formula, select Formula as the Information Source.

The options for including a formula are:

Short Description | Enter a short description that will appear as the label for the formula results in the Custom Information grid.
Info Type | Select the type of data to be manipulated: Numeric/Calculation or Text.
Max. Length | Enter the maximum length (in characters) of the result. This will be used to determine column width.
Display Format | (Optional) Displays the formatting that was entered or selected using the Define button. Formatting for numeric data includes currency symbols, thousands separators, signs, etc. Formatting for text data, such as dates, includes dashes, slashes, etc.
Define | Launches a Numeric Format or Text Format window for defining a numeric or text display format, depending on the Info Type selected.
Formula | The formula may be entered as a free-form PxPlus expression by users who have ADMIN or CUSTOMIZER security classifications. See Security Considerations. Others must use the Build button to define a formula. Numeric formulas can be built from digits and panel information items. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation and modulus operations are supported. PxPlus functions such as ABS( ) absolute value, INT( ) integer, MIN( ) minimum value, and MAX( ) maximum value can be used to manipulate values as well. Text formulas can be built that concatenate text components. These components can be comprised of literal values, program variables (ADMIN or CUSTOMIZER classes only) and values from panel items. Partial items may be defined and segments may be padded, have characters stripped, or be converted to upper/lower case. Formulas are displayed as PxPlus expressions in the definition, and free-form formulas may be any valid PxPlus expression.
Build | Launches a separate Define a Numeric Formula or Define a Text Formula window for defining a numeric or text formula, depending on the Info Type selected.
Allow this item to be shared | Select this check box to mark the item as shareable. This means that the item will be displayed in the Merge Customizer Items window, allowing other users to copy it into their custom definitions. (The Allow this item to be shared option was added in PxPlus 2018.)
Display | Specify a display option for numeric values. (Default is Normal.) If the value of the formula represents a percentage value, select Percent Bar as the Display option and then select a Bar Color. The value will then be displayed as a colored bar followed by the literal value where a value of 100 (or greater) will create a bar taking up 80% of the Value column width, with 20% left for the literal value. A value of 50 would create a bar half that length, and a value of zero (or less) would display only the literal value. (The Display option was added in PxPlus 2017.)