How to create a list provided by an External Data Source in the response form

About this article

This article will explain how to allow the user to select an answer from a fixed list originating from the external data sources in the response form so it can be utilized to populate the smart template. 

• How to allow selecting an answer from a fixed list the response form?
• Data connector question example

Prerequisites

How to allow selecting an answer from a fixed list the response form

When building the response form, the Data connector question can be utilized to allow the user to pick from an existing list of answers originating from external data sources. Creating a Data connector question can be achieved by following these steps: 

1. In the Template Designer, navigate to the Form tab
2. Click Add question 
3. Select Data connector in the Type dropdown
4. Enter the Question title
   This will be displayed to end-user and will guide them to provide the relevant answer
5. Select the External data source
   The external data source containing the list of answers necessary for the question
6. Select the Label column
   The column of the  external data source that should be displayed to end-users when answering the question, only String values will be supported for the Label column. 
7. Optionally,  
   • Required: Enable this option if the user should be prevented from finalizing the generation of the template if the input is missing. An asterisk will be displayed in the response form to indicate that the question is mandatory. 
   • Hint text: Prepopulate the text question to guide the user when filling in the response form of the expected answer. The hint text will be deleted when the user selects the question.
   • Reference name: Will be prepopulated based on the question title. The reference name will be displayed when utilizing the form responses smart field and is also the Name utilized in the binding syntax.  
   • Prefill text: Prepopulate the question to guide the user when filling in the response form of the expected answer. The prefill text can be edited and will remain when the user selects the question. It can utilize simple text or the binding syntax to achieve more complex use cases.
   • Spacing before: Edit the space between the question and the elements above it in the response form (none, medium, or large).
   • Space after: Edit the space between the question and the elements below it in the response form (none, medium, or large).
   • Helptext prefix: Add additional help text above the question to guide the user when filling in the response form of the expected answer.
   • Helptext postfix: Add additional help text below the question to guide the user when filling in the response form of the expected answer.
   • Share value: Enable this option if the same question will be utilized in the response form of dynamic text elements or slides that would be inserted when generating a document or a presentation. The answer to this question will be reused to avoid prompting the user with redundant questions.
8. Click Add to form
   
   • The Data connector question will be added to the response form 
   • The question will be displayed in the form responses smart field using its Reference name 
   • Reference name of the question can be utilized in binding syntax to achieve more complex use cases using the Custom text binding smart field or to set template settings and properties.

Data Connector question example

Selecting the Account stored in Microsoft Dynamics 365 using the Data connector question

Create a Data connector question using " Account:" as the Question title, linking to the AccountsBCompany external data source, and displaying the name column of the AccountsBCompany external data source. 

AccountsBCompany external data source sample

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