Tool Name: Normalized Tables
Tool Description:
A Normalized Table is a sub-form used to log repeating data points within a record. A common example is the medical history form. Medical history is usually collected just once during a subject's screening. Still, the amount of data collected is unknown, so it's often necessary to have a table or log for collecting that data.
Normalized tables allow a study builder to insert multiple fields (columns) in a single table so a site user can complete various rows of repeating information.
Normalized Tables can also be designed as a fixed table or containing a set number of rows. This type of Normalized table is covered in greater detail below.
Tool Use
When a Normalized Table is dragged and dropped into the Form Builder's body/grid, the Form Fields dialog box opens to allow users to add Form Fields as shown below. Users can Drag and Drop Form Fields into the Normalized Tables Dialog box.
Form Field properties:
Each field dragged into the table has properties that can be edited the same way other elements' properties can be. Select the field in the dialog box, then go to the Properties section of the Form Builder and fill in the appropriate properties.
In the example below, the form field type, Radio Group, has been dragged and dropped into the Fields dialog box. The Radio Groups Form Fields properties are now displayed in the left column.
Field properties display in the left column as form fields are added to the builder. User's select field properties by typing, clicking on links, or clicking on the properties.
Column Header:
To add the column header, type in the Label column highlighted in yellow. If the header is long, you can use a <br> tag to break the text to a new line when it's displayed in the table. This prevents the column in the table from being too wide.
Field properties display in the left column as form fields are added to the builder. User’s select field properties by typing, clicking on links, or clicking on the properties.
Editing, Adding, and Removing Fields:
- Click the Normalized Table. The table will now be highlighted.
- Locate the Fields row under the Normalized Table Properties section.
- Click on the View/Edit option. Clicking this link opens the Fields Dialog box. The Fields Dialog box allows the user to add Form Fields, Properties, and Type in Column Headers for a Normalized Table.
Defining Fixed Length Tables:
You may want to have a normalized table that has a fixed and required number of rows. The fixed rows attribute allows you to define a normalized table that has a fixed number of rows. It does this based on the first column in the table.
When defining a Fixed Row table, the first column must be either a dropdown or radio button field. That is because these are the only field types that can have field choices. The field choices will determine the number of rows in the table.
The Add Row and delete button will no longer be displayed when the Fixed Row option is enabled. A single value represents each row that value is defined in the first column of the table's field choices.
Each field choice is rendered into a row. Therefore, the number of field choices you have in the first column of the table determines the number of rows. Remember each row is attached to the Field Choice Value. Therefore, changing the text of the field will change that for all defined tables. Likewise, deleting a field choice will delete all related rows in the rendered table.
Layout – Allows the user to determine the position of the Normalized Table in the Grid.
Left (pixels) – This allows the user to designate the left edge of the Normalized Table.
Top (pixels) – This allows the user to designate the top edge of the Normalized Table.
The table can also be dragged and dropped into the desired location on the Form Builder grid. The number in the pixel column will change according to the location where the table is dropped.
Note: Conditional Actions cannot disable or hide normalized tables on the eCrf. You can use conditional action on the first row of the table to check a condition outside of the table. Example: If a user marked No on a "Relevant Medical History" form then listed medical history information, an error will be prompted highlighting this discrepancy.
For more information on the available Field Types, please visit the Field Types Knowledge base article.
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