Use a Graphical Status Bar to visually represent the lifecycle of a record, showing a tile for each status and allowing users to click tiles to progress the record. When you add a graphical status bar, it appears between the common area and the record tabs, or, if the common area is shown as a sidebar, it appears at the top the record tabs.

Example status bar

Adding a Status Bar

Status bars are visual aids for the stages of a record's lifecycle. Each status is represented in the status bar, and when the status changes, the status bar changes to match. Status bars show the current status in the context of the full lifecycle. Status bars are commonly used in the Contract table, but they can be added to any table.

To add a status bar to a table:

  1. Go to the Table wizard using either method:
  2. Go to the Layout tab.
  3. Click Edit Settings in the Status Display area.
  4. Select the field drop-down, then select a field from the list. This list includes only Choice fields from the current table. In most cases, you should select the wfstate or Status field.
  5. If desired, select any statuses you want to hide in the status bar. A selected status is not shown in the status bar unless the record is currently in that status. For example, you might hide the Canceled status for a status bar in the Contract table, since most contracts never use that status. For the few contracts that are in the Canceled status, that status does appear in the bar.
  6. Click Finish in the dialog, then click Finish in the Table wizard to apply your changes. You don't need to add the status bar to the layout.

The status bar automatically distributes screen space evenly to each available status value. On narrower screens, long values are abbreviated, and users can see the full name by hovering over the tile.

Pending Approval tooltip

Controlling Status Transitions

If you use the wfstate or Status field, which is tied to the Workflow configuration for the table, the status bar applies any transition restrictions you've configured in the Workflow. For example, in the Contract table, you can only move to the Expired status from the Active status, so if the contract isn't currently active, the Expired tile is disabled.

For more information about setting up workflow states and status transitions, see Workflows.

Status Bar Appearance

You can configure the colors used for graphical status bars in the Look and Feel wizard, on the Forms tab.

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