Linked parameters use the dynamic format of the mobile business object to drive the content of the drop-down values on the device application.
Many applications have drop-down fields for users to choose from and the values of some drop-down fields can affect the choices in other drop-down fields.
Linked parameters make it easier to build entry forms for device applications that allow dependent drop-down choices. For example, users need to select only the valid state values from existing drop-down fields without having to worry about whether they selected "California" for the state field while the country field is "Canada" instead of "USA." This makes the input data consistent with less chance of errors. For example:
| Drop-down Field | Values |
|---|---|
| Field 1 | Accepts values A, B, or C |
| Field 2 | Allows values dependent on Field 1: A–>1,2,3 B–>4, 5, 6 C–>7, 8, 9 |
| Field 3 | Allows values dependent on Field 1:A–>100, 101, 102 B–>200, 201, 202 C–>300, 301, 302 |
| Field 4 | Allows values dependent on Field 2: 1–>11, 111 2->22,222 3–>33,333 4–>44,444 5->55,555 6–>66,666 7–>77,777 8–>88,888 9–>99,999 |
When the user selects value "A" from drop-down Field 1, the allowed values listed in drop-down Field 2 change to 1, 2, 3 and drop-down Field 3 changes to 100, 101, 102.
If the user then chooses value C from drop-down Field 1, then drop-down Field 2 changes to 7, 8, 9, drop-down Field 3 changes to 300, 301, 302, and drop-down Field 4 changes to 77,777.