How to: Add a Local Property to an HTML Screen
You can collect an input value or display a calculated value by adding a local property field to a screen in an HTML client for a LightSwitch app.
To create a local property
On the Screen Designer toolbar, choose the Add Data Item button.
The Add Data Item dialog box appears.
In the Add Data Item dialog box, choose the Local Property option button.
In the Type list, choose a type for the local property.
You can choose any of the standard types, such as String, Integer, Email Address, or any entity that’s associated with your application, such as Customer, Order Detail, or Product.
Select the Is Required check box if you want to require this field to contain a value.
Note
If this field doesn’t contain a value when the user tries to open the screen, a validation message appears.
In the Name text box, enter a name for the property, and then choose the OK button.
The local property appears in the Screen Members List.
To add a local property to a screen
In the Screen Members List, drag the local property onto the appropriate location in the Screen Content Tree.
In the Screen Content Tree, in the list that appears next to the local property, choose the appropriate display type.
For example, if you are creating a local property to display an email address, you can change its display type to Email Address Editor or Email Address Viewer. You can also display a string local property as either a Text Box, a Text Area, or a Label.
To apply validation rules to a local property
In the Screen Members List, choose the local property.
In the Properties window, expand the Validation node if it is not already expanded.
The available validation rules will vary depending on the type of the local property.
If the local property must have a value, select the Is Required check box.
Choose any other validation rules that you want to apply to the local property. For example, for a string you might set a Maximum Length property.
To perform more complex validation, choose Custom Validation.
The Code Editor appears. LightSwitch generates a method that’s named localPropertyName_Validate and to which you can add custom validation logic.