Context: Certain instruments may require a choice of configuration options in order to be setup properly for use by a booker.  For example, an instrument could use lasers of different types and a lab technician would like to know which ones have been selected for that day.  The booker should therefore be required to select from a drop down list of different choices.  This could also be useful for other contexts such as choosing a layout for a meeting room or for specifying how many people will be attending a session.


Suitable for: Admins as it is requires access to the Bakery in order to setup the relevant properties.


Objective: We will be setting up a list of options for the different equipment configurations and then adding an additional property to the Booking biskit in order to make these choices available as a drop down box.


Steps:

  1. In your admin account click on Admin and then Bakery
  2. Click on Mapped Int in the menu on the left or expand it by clicking on the plus sign (useful to check whether a similar set of choices has been setup - different lists can be reused)
  3. With Mapped Int selected, click Create in the toolbar to the right
  4. Supply a name which is self explanatory, such as 'Laser Colours'
  5. A display group will place it into the menu on the left - you can create your own display groups to make organising your mapped ints easier
  6. Choose whether you want a Null Value Label - this is the label which will be stored if no other options are selected
  7. In The Values box underneath, click Add once for each value that will be required to create the Name/Value pairs required.
  8. Start adding the names which you will be using for the drop down box - for our first context this will be the laser colours which your users will select from
  9. Next to each name, make sure there is a unique integer value.  Don't worry though, Calpendo will make sure that if you repeat an integer it will let you know with a red box!
  10. Click Save and then refresh your browser to make the Mapped Int available for the next series of steps
  11. Still in the Bakery select Biskit Def in the menu on the left
  12. Scroll down to the Booking Biskit and select it
    1. If you want this new drop down box to apply to all bookings for all resources you can edit the Booking Biskit directly to add the property for the mapped int.
    2. But if you would like this drop down box to appear on booking forms for specific resources you will need to create a booking subtype. 
  13. In the Biskit editor window select Edit
  14. Click Add New under Properties
  15. Set the Type to 'Int'
  16. Provide a name such as 'lasers' for this context
  17. You can specify a different label such as 'Choose Laser Colour' for the booking form
  18. Set the Integer Type to 'Mapped Integer'
  19. Once you have selected mapped integer you will then be able to choose the Mapped Int you wish to use such as 'Laser Colours'
  20. You can then choose the default value which if left as 'Null' will use the null value label you specified when you setup the mapped int
  21. Save the Biskit editing window
  22. Before you do anything else select Update DB Schema in the main toolbar for the Bakery (Click Apply Changes when requested)
  23. Then select Reload DB Configuration and then refresh your browser
  24. Go and test your new booking form and your lasers will be ready