From Clio Operate 7.13, you can make a Form Builder form read only where it is used. That place can be a Form Builder aspect, the Form Builder widget or the Form View Aggregator widget. The form can be read only at all times, or only when selected business rules match.

The same form can therefore be editable in one place and read only in another. For example, a key facts form can lock after a matter moves into a phase where the facts are agreed. The same form can stay editable on a review page.

Before you start

• You need access to Modeller.
• To make a form read only under a condition, create the business rule first, in Modeller > Rules > Business Rules. The rule is evaluated against the work item.
• Existing aspects and widgets are not read only after the upgrade to Clio Operate 7.13. Their settings start switched off.

How Clio Operate decides that a form is read only

A form is read only if any one of these conditions applies:

• The setting where the form is used is always read only.
• The business rules picked where the form is used match the work item.
• The form's own Read Only setting is on. This setting applies everywhere that the form is used.
• The user does not have permission to edit the work item or the aspect.
• The work item is in a closed phase.

Fields marked read only in the form definition stay read only, whatever the other settings say. If Clio Operate cannot evaluate the business rules, the form stays editable.

Make a Form Builder aspect read only

1. In Modeller, navigate to Work types > Work types and open the work type.
2. Select Aspects.
3. On the Form Builder aspect, select the Display icon (an eye).
4. In the Read Only section, choose when the form is read only:
   • To make the form read only at all times, turn on Make this aspect read only.
   • To make the form read only under a condition, select one or more business rules in Read only when these business rules match.
5. If you selected more than one business rule, choose And or Or to join them.
6. Select Confirm, then select Save.
7. If the work type has child work types, choose whether to apply the change to them.

When Make this aspect read only is on, the business rule area is hidden. Clio Operate keeps any rules that you picked, and displays them again if you turn the toggle off.

[SCREENSHOT: The display settings of a Form Builder aspect, with the Read Only section showing the Make this aspect read only toggle and a business rule selected. Alt text: "The Read Only section of the aspect display settings, with a toggle and a business rule picker."]

The Read Only section also displays on aspects for participant roles, participant types, ODS entity types, location types and the user profile. This article describes Form Builder aspects only.

How a read only aspect behaves

• An Inline form displays its saved values, and none of its fields can be changed. Saving the blade does not change the values.
• A Nav Bar form opens with no Save or Save & Close.
• Required fields are not checked. An empty required field does not stop the blade saving, and no red badge displays on the Nav Bar button.
• The setting applies to its own aspect only. Other aspects on the same blade stay editable.

Clio Operate checks the business rules when the blade opens, and again when the work item moves into another phase. The form then changes without a page reload. A rule on another value, such as a field on the form, takes effect the next time that the user opens the blade.

Make the Form Builder widget read only

1. In Modeller, navigate to Forms and views > Portal editor.
2. Select the portal, then select Design on the page that holds the widget.
3. Open the settings of the Form Builder widget.
4. In the Read Only section, turn on Always read only, or select business rules in Read only when these business rules match.
5. Save the widget, then save the page.
6. At the bottom of the Modeller navigation, select the Force reload of all configuration icon (a recycle symbol).

Changes in the portal designer reach work item pages only after the configuration is reloaded. Until then, the widget keeps its earlier setting.

When the widget is read only, it displays the form's values but does not display Edit in its menu. Clio Operate checks the business rules when the page loads, when the work item moves into another phase, and when the work item is saved.

The setting belongs to the widget on that page. If the same form is on another page without the setting, it is editable there.

Make the Form View Aggregator widget read only

You can make the whole Form View Aggregator read only, or each of its sections separately.

1. In the portal designer, open the settings of the Form View Aggregator widget.
2. To make the whole widget read only, use the Read Only section of the widget settings.
3. To make one section read only, open the section, then use its Read Only section.
4. In each Read Only section, turn on Always read only, or select business rules in Read only when these business rules match.
5. Save the widget and the page, then reload the configuration, in the same way as for the Form Builder widget.

A read only aggregator makes every section read only, whatever the settings of each section.

A read only section does not display its Edit, Add or custom buttons. The readiness of each section, the progress list and the links to sections still work.

Clio Operate checks the rules on the whole aggregator when the page loads and when the work item moves into another phase. Each section checks its own rules when it reloads on its UI events. If a section has no UI events, its rules are checked only when the page loads or the phase changes.

Business rules that control read only

• A business rule that an aspect or a widget uses for read only cannot be deleted. The delete check lists each place where the rule is used.
• When you export a work type, a participant role or a portal, the business rules for read only are included as required items. The reason reads, for example, "Portal has form builder widget(s) that use this business rule to control read only".
• If a picked rule no longer exists, for example after an import, the Read Only section displays a warning: "The selected rule(s) - … - are either invalid in this context or have been deleted." The form stays editable until you pick a rule that exists.

Related articles

• Add a Form to a Work Type
• Add an Aspect to a Work Type
• Form Builder Overview
• Business Rules
• Portal Widgets: Available Widgets