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Modules

Modules provide a way of storing data inside your namespace. All the data is local to the namespace and is not accessible from other namespaces. Without modules, your namespace has no memory nor anything to work with, so defining them is the next step when creating a new app. A simple namespace typically only contains a few modules, however their number and their complexity is not limited. Corteza CRM, for example, has over 35 modules with hundreds of fields.

For a better understanding we provide a corelation with database terminology, though no database knowledge is required to use this feature. * A module can be thought of as a table, as it provides some metadata, a set of attributes and a place to store related data, * a module field can be thought of as an attribute, as it provides a way of defining the shape of the data, * a record can be thought of as an entity, as it provides the actual data for the module.

Corteza Low Code supports fields with multiple value entries for the same record (see [admin-compose-fields-edit]), so you might not need pivot tables.

Module guidelines

For a consistent experience across different namespaces and Corteza instances, we define a few general guidelines regarding module definitions:

Module name

The module name should be in PascalCase with spaces allowed, it should be short and descriptive, with no special characters except for : (colon), - (dash), _ (underscore), / (forward slash) and \ (backwards slash). For example: Quote Line,

Module handle

The module handle should be in snake_case, it should be short and descriptive, with no special characters. If provided, it must:

  1. start with a character,

  2. contain only characters, numbers, _ (underscore), - (dash) or . (dot),

  3. end with a character or a number.

Module field guidelines

For a consistent experience across different namespaces and Corteza instances, we define a few general guidelines regarding module field definitions:

Field name

The module field title should be in snake_case, it should be short and descriptive, with no special characters. Name must:

  1. start with a character,

  2. contain only characters, numbers, _ (underscore), - (dash) or . (dot),

  3. end with a character or a number.

Field title

The module field title doesn’t define any strict restriction, as it is shown to the user. The only requirement is that it should be as short as possible (maximum length of 64 characters).

Type

When defining a field, a correct type should be used; for example "Email" when storing emails, "Number" when storing numbers, and so on.

Module field types

For a more structured system, we provide the following set of field types for you to chose from. By pressing on the wrench icon, you are able to provide additional configuration for the module field.

  • Checkbox (Y/N): This field shows a checkbox to the end user when editing a record. When you click on the wrench icon, you can select what checked and unchecked represent. For example: Yes/No, Active/Inactive, etc.

  • Date and time: Date time input field. You can configure:

    • Date only to omit the time part and only use the date,

    • Time only to omit the date part and only use the time,

    • Past values only to only allow past values,

    • Future value only to only allow future values,

    • Output relative value to show the value relative to now,

    • Custom output format to allow custom output date format.

  • Email: Email input field. Automatically performs email validation and creates a clickable link when viewing the value (can be disabled). This field auto-validates whether the input is an email and turns it into a clickable email link in record-viewing mode. You can configure:

    • Don’t turn email into a link to keep the email as plain text

  • Select / dropdown: Dropdown value select input. Forces the users to use one of the specified values. You can configure:

    • Options to add as many select options as you wish. You must provide both the value (left input) and the label (right input). Value represents the data storage, and label represents the display,

    • Multiple value input type to determine how multiple values are selected.

  • Number: Number value input. Automatically performs number validation and allows only numbers to be inserted. You can configure:

    • Prefix to specify the number’s prefix, such as $,

    • suffix to specify the number’s suffix, such as USD/h,

    • precision to specify the precision the number is stored with,

    • format to specify the numbers display format.

  • Record: Provides a way of cross-linking different records to define a complex structure. It renders a searchable select field. You can configure:

    • Module to specify what module this field will be linked to,

    • record label field to specify what field should be used when showing the linked record,

    • query fields on search to specify the fields that should be included in the search,

    • prefilter records to specify the pre-filtering.

  • String: Provides a text input field. You can configure:

    • Multi line to specify that the value can span over multiple lines,

    • use rich text editor to use the rich text editor instead of the simple plain text editor.

  • URL: Provides an URL input field. Automatically performs URL validation and creates a clickable link when viewing the value (can be configured). You can configure:

    • Trim # from the URL to specify that the hash should be ignored,

    • Trim ? from the URL to specify that the query should be ignored,

    • Only allow SSL (HTTPS) URLs to specify that only secure URL’s can be provided,

    • Don’t turn URL into a link to keep the URL as a plain text value.

  • User: Provides a searchable dropdown select. This field references all users in Corteza. You can configure:

    • Preset with current user to default to the user that created/updated the record,

    • Multiple value input type to determine how multiple values are selected.

  • File upload: This creates a File Upload input. You can configure:

    • Veiw mode to specify how the files are presented when viewing the value.

See Moment.js format for available date time formatting.

See Numeral.js format for available number formatting.

Create a module

  1. Navigate to the Corteza Low Code page and enter the namespace you wish to edit,

  2. click on the "Admin panel" in the top right corner,

  3. navigate to the "Modules" sub page,

  4. enter the module name and press the "Create" button,

  5. provide the module handle and save the changes.

Importing modules

The current importing system is unable to resolve relations between different modules via Record fields. This has to be fixed manually after the system is done with the import.

Modules can be imported from a JSON file.

  1. Navigate to the Corteza Low Code page and enter the namespace you wish to edit,

  2. click on the "Admin panel" in the top right corner,

  3. navigate to the "Modules" sub page,

  4. find the "Import module(s)" section on the top of the page,

  5. click on the "Browse" button and select the JSON file containing module definitions,

  6. click on the "Import" button,

  7. select on the modules you wish to import and press the "Import" button.

Editing a module

  1. Navigate to the Corteza Low Code page and enter the namespace you wish to edit,

  2. click on the "Admin panel" in the top right corner,

  3. navigate to the "Modules" sub page,

  4. click on the edit icon next to the module you wish to edit,

  5. update the data and save the changes.

Deleting a module

  1. Navigate to the Corteza Low Code page and enter the namespace you wish to edit,

  2. click on the "Admin panel" in the top right corner,

  3. navigate to the "Modules" sub page,

  4. click on the edit icon next to the module you wish to edit,

  5. click on the "Delete" button on the bottom of the page and confirm the action.

Module permissions

If you can’t access or manage permissions, you don’t have the correct permissions. Contact your system administrator.

Any module

  1. Navigate to the Corteza Low Code page and enter the namespace you wish to edit,

  2. click on the "Admin panel" in the top right corner,

  3. navigate to the "Modules" sub page,

  4. press the lock icon in the header of the list.

You can set:

Read any module

Determines if the role is allowed to access any Corteza Low Code module,

Update any module

Determines if the role is allowed to update any Corteza Low Code module,

Delete any module

Determines if the role is allowed to delete any Corteza Low Code module,

Create record under any module

Determines if the role is allowed to create records for any Corteza Low Code module,

Read records under any module

Determines if the role is allowed to access records for any Corteza Low Code module,

Update records under any module

Determines if the role is allowed to update records for any Corteza Low Code module,

Delete records under any module

Determines if the role is allowed to delete records for any Corteza Low Code module.

Specific module

  1. Navigate to the Corteza Low Code page and enter the namespace you wish to edit,

  2. click on the "Admin panel" in the top right corner,

  3. navigate to the "Modules" sub page,

  4. click on the edit icon next to the module you wish to edit,

  5. press the lock icon in the header of the list.

You can set:

Read module "(module name)"

Determines if the role is allowed to access the given module,

Update module "(module name)"

Determines if the role is allowed to update the properties of the given module,

Delete module "(module name)"

Determines if the role is allowed to delete the given module,

Create record of module "(module name)"

Determines if the role is allowed to create record entries for the given module,

Read records of module "(module name)"

Determines if the role is allowed to access the records of the given module,

Update records of module "(module name)"

Determines if the role is allowed to update the records of the given module,

Delete records of module "(module name)"

Determines if the role is allowed to delete the records of the given module.

Adding module fields

  1. Navigate to the Corteza Low Code page and enter the namespace you wish to edit,

  2. click on the "Admin panel" in the top right corner,

  3. navigate to the "Modules" sub page,

  4. click on the edit icon next to the module you wish to edit,

  5. click on the "+ Add new field" button,

  6. configure the field as you see fit and save changes.

Each field defines the following properties:

  • Name: This defines the internal naming convention and it must be specified and unique. This is not shown to the end user. It must:

    1. start with a character,

    2. contain only characters, numbers, _ (underscore), - (dash) or . (dot),

    3. end with a character or a number.

  • Title: This is a "human-friendly" representation of the field and is shown to the end-user when they view/edit the field. The title field doesn’t define strict restrictions, but is limited to the maximum of 64 characters,

  • Type: This defines what type of information this field represents. As is, the field defaults to the basic configuration for each specific field type. This can be edited by clicking on the wrench icon to the right of the dropdown.

  • Multi value: This checkbox allows us to store multiple entries of the same field for the given record.

  • Required: This makes the field mandatory for the end user when creating or editing a record.

  • Private: This allows you to mark data that is sensitive, such as name, email, or telephone number, so your namespace is compliant with privacy regulations such as the GDPR.

Editing module fields

If a specific module already contains some records, your module field editing interface is limited. If you wish to create a new field with the similar intent but with a different type, we suggest you create a new field instead of trying to edit the existing one.

  1. Navigate to the Corteza Low Code page and enter the namespace you wish to edit,

  2. click on the "Admin panel" in the top right corner,

  3. navigate to the "Modules" sub page,

  4. click on the edit icon next to the module you wish to edit,

  5. configure the field as you see fit and save changes.

Each field defines the following properties:

  • Name: This defines the internal naming convention and it must be specified and unique. This is not shown to the end user. It must:

    1. start with a character,

    2. contain only characters, numbers, _ (underscore), - (dash) or . (dot),

    3. end with a character or a number.

  • Title: This is a "human-friendly" representation of the field and is shown to the end-user when they view/edit the field. The title field doesn’t define strict restrictions, but is limited to the maximum of 64 characters,

  • Type: This defines what type of information this field represents. As is, the field defaults to the basic configuration for each specific field type. This can be edited by clicking on the wrench icon to the right of the dropdown.

  • Multi value: This checkbox allows us to store multiple entries of the same field for the given record.

  • Required: This makes the field mandatory for the end user when creating or editing a record.

  • Private: This allows you to mark data that is sensitive, such as name, email, or telephone number, so your namespace is compliant with privacy regulations such as the GDPR.

Deleting

  • When deleting existing fields, the change will not take effect unless you explicitly save the changes,

  • When deleting new fields, the changes take effect immediately.

  1. Navigate to the Corteza Low Code page and enter the namespace you wish to edit,

  2. click on the "Admin panel" in the top right corner,

  3. navigate to the "Modules" sub page,

  4. click on the edit icon next to the module you wish to edit,

  5. click on the trashcan icon next to the field you wish to delete and save changes.

Module field permissions

If you can’t access or manage permissions, you don’t have the correct permissions. Contact your system administrator.

Any field

  1. Navigate to the Corteza Low Code page and enter the namespace you wish to edit,

  2. click on the "Admin panel" in the top right corner,

  3. navigate to the "Modules" sub page,

  4. click on the edit icon next to the module you wish to edit,

  5. press the lock icon in the header of the list.

You can set:

Read any module field

Determines if the role is allowed to see any Corteza Low Code module field,

Update any module field

Determines if the role is allowed to update any Corteza Low Code module field.

Specific field

  1. Navigate to the Corteza Low Code page and enter the namespace you wish to edit,

  2. click on the "Admin panel" in the top right corner,

  3. navigate to the "Modules" sub page,

  4. click on the edit icon next to the module you wish to edit,

  5. press the lock icon next to the field you wish to edit.

You can set:

Read "(field name)" record fields

Determines if the role is allowed to access the given value inside the module. This will hide any data that might appear in the field,

Update "(field name)" record fields

Determines if the role is allowed to update the values in the given module field. This will prevent any data manipulation for the field.