Showing Email adresses while typing

[kc]

Hi all,



I want to make it possible for the user to type a name in a texfield/dropdown menu and somehow lookup an email address for the name and let the user choose the correct email address for the name (if more than one result is returned).



The functionality is more or less the same as most of you allready know in a standard email client



Can this be achieved in a clever manner?



Thanks in advance



Sincerely

Kim

[Former Community Member]

Where is the source of the email addresses? Are they in a Database somewhere? What interfaces are exposed to allow a serach of that facility? Are you using LiveCycle Server?

[kc]

Hi again Paul,



We have a LiveCyle Server at our disposal, so we can use whatever functionality it delivers. Also the email addresses are stored in the Active Directory (so an LDAP lookup could maybe be used in this scenario).



However there is a vast number of users (up to 3000 - windmill inspectors) in the system, so the resultsets that are returned from a call might be very large. Also the users who should use the system are located on unreliable networks (e.g. a mobile 3G connection) so response times might be slow. Therefore I am a little concerned of scalability if the lookup should be done via a call to a web service.



Can you say something on the issues regarding scalability and response times for calling a web service that should add the "Office Outlook" functionality in a form.



Thanks in advance



Sincerely

Kim

[Former Community Member]

Well if thats where the addresses are stored then I have no choice but to create some sort of service that makes that call. You can place restrictions on the connection to only retrieve a set amount (say 100 or so) but you will have to be online to get the addresses.

[kc]

Hi again,



This sounds ok, but I am still worried that the performance of a WS-call will be too slow if I have to call a WS on the "change" event in the textfield. Especially when we are speaking of a unreliable network with varying response times.



Do you know any solutions currently using this type of solution?



Sincerely

Kim

[Former Community Member]

Again if thats where the addresses are then I do not see how you have any choice. Is there another place to get them?



I wouldn't do it on change but rather on exit.



Yes I have many people using Web Services to prepopulate drop downs.

[kc]

Hi again Paul,



I agree to the fact that it is difficult to do anything else than doing it on exit of the field. I might be able to get the adresses another way, but I am really not sure how it can help me. I guess that the ideal solution would be to have the adresses directly in the form, but i am not sure that this will help us, the initial opening of the form would then take "for ages".



If I somehow could only retrieve the "most used email adresses" and let the user choose among those it would be nice, but the form is really not supposed to keep track of who is using it.



Any ideas, what do you see as the ideal solution to this issue?



Sincerely

Kim

[Thomas_McConnac]

You could have the search function only start once the user has input a certain number of characters.



Could then live in the change event, but only start once enough characters have been entered to speed up the search.



stringName = fieldName.rawValue;



if (stringName.length > 4)

{

//search

}

[Former Community Member]

How about having a regular textfield to enter the search criteria and on the exit populate the dropdown with the results.....the DD would be hidden and inactive until it was populated.



That one you would only ever have one search at a time. This also mens that the form woudl only work online.