DataSources[]

About this article

Datasources[] is a function that returns a row of a data source. It is possible to get data from a data source by Name. This article will explain the binding syntax and show examples how this can be configured in the Dynamics Designer.

Pre-requisites

Admin right on Templafy tenant
Hive Dynamics Designer (Dynamics 2.0)

Syntax

Syntax	{{DataSources.DataSourceName[NameValueToLookUp].ColumnName}}

The 'NameValueToLookUp' can be plain text or a form field. Using a form field you can use it as a variable, so the output depends on the input of the user.

The function can be used in the Binding field on the Element tab in the Dynamics Designer:

Examples

In the examples below these data sources are used. The column Country of the Offices data source is a reference to the column Name of the Countries data source:

Please note, creating data sources requires admin rights as is done from the Resources module in the Admin Center of the Templafy tenant

Example 1

Plain text: Get PostalCode from the row that contains the name "Office Eindhoven".

Please note, plain text must be enclosed in quotation marks.

Binding	{{DataSources.Offices["Office Eindhoven"].PostalCode}}
Input	n/a
Output	5611 ZB

Example 2

ComboBox: Get PostalCode from the row that contains the value of the form field {{Form.OfficeName}}.

Binding	{{DataSources.Offices[Form.OfficeName].PostalCode}}
Input	Office Copenhagen
Output	1403

Example 3

Dropdown: Get PostalCode from the row that contains the value of the form field {{Form.OfficeName}}.

Please note, in the binding you need to use {{Form.OfficeName.Name}}, because it's a dropdown field

Binding	{{DataSources.Offices[Form.OfficeName.Name].PostalCode}}
Input	Office New York
Output	10007

Example 4

ComboBox, nested: Get Country from the row that contains the value of the form field {{Form.OfficeName}}.

Please note, in the binding you need to use the nested field {{DataSources.Offices[Form.OfficeName].Country.Name}}, because in the data source the column Country of the Offices data source is a reference to the column Name of the Countries data source.
Nested fields can be used for both ComboBox and Dropdown

Binding	{{DataSources.Offices[Form.OfficeName].Country.Name}}
Input	Office Berlin
Output	Germany

Example 5

Get multiple fields from the row that contains the value of the form field {{Form.OfficeName}}.

Binding	Location Templafy {{DataSources.Offices[Form.OfficeName].City}}: {{DataSources.Offices[Form.OfficeName].Address}}, {{DataSources.Offices[Form.OfficeName].PostalCode}}, {{DataSources.Offices[Form.OfficeName].City}}, {{DataSources.Offices[Form.OfficeName].Country.Name}}
Input	Office Sydney
Output	Location Templafy Sydney: 151 Clarence Street, NSW 2000, Sydney, Australia

Please note, for all examples explained, if no value is resolved then "" is returned

Example 6

For insertion of an image.

Binding	{{DataSources.DataSourceName["ImageName"].DataSourceColumnName}}

Example 7

If you want your email signature or Word document to contain a 'tip of the day' (showing a different tip every day) then create a table containing all 366 possible dates (format 'month/day') and texts like this:

In your email HTML or in Dynamics Designer use this binding to show a tip based on the current date:

Binding	{{DataSources.TipOfTheDay[FormatDateTime(Now(),"MM-dd","en-US")].Tip}}
Input	Today's date = "January 2"	Today's date = "December 31"
Output	"To increase the font size, highlight the text and then press Ctrl+]."	"To insert a non-breaking hyphen press Ctrl+Shift+_."

Use this binding to show a tip based on the date selected by the user in the form field 'Date':

Binding	{{DataSources.TipOfTheDay[Form.Date,"MM-dd","en-US")].Tip}}
Input	Date = "January 2"	Date = "December 31"
Output	"To increase the font size, highlight the text and then press Ctrl+]."	"To insert a non-breaking hyphen press Ctrl+Shift+_."

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