A multiple-line-text field will allow for a multiple lines of text to be entered.
If this is a fixed field on a page, and not in a grid row, then its height is fixed. You must be careful not to enter more text than will fit in the field. When more text is entered than will fit in the field it may run off into other fields.
If this field is in a grid row then its height will grow, or shrink, to fit the height of the text entered. Also the height of this field will determine the height of its row.
Entry:
When this field is activated for the first time begin entering the value’s characters from left to right.
To insert text into the value of this field, position the edit cursor before the character where you want the text inserted and begin typing.
To delete text from the value of this field, position the edit cursor before the character that you want the start deleting text, then press the Delete key once for every character that you want to delete.
Note: When inserting text into an existing value, make sure that your keyboard is in insert mode and not type over mode. If your new text is overwriting the existing value then you are in type over mode. Stop and undo the last change to recover your previous value by using Ctrl+Z to undo the last change. Then switch to insert mode by pressing the Insert key once. Pressing the Insert key will toggle you between.
Note that when a field is activated the edit cursor will be placed where it was the last time that this field was entered. This allows you to continue editing the value where you left off. This is most useful in large item description values.
If you want to replace the entire value you must first select it using a double click in the field, then delete the existing value, then start entering the new value.
To empty the value, select the entire value, then press the Backspace key or the Delete key.
The entire value is selected if all of its characters are highlighted in blue. To select the value when it is not currently highlighted just double click inside the field. You can also select the value using the keyboard by first pressing the Home key, then pressing the Shift + End key combination.
When editing the multiple-line-text field that is in a grid row, the size of the edit window will be adjusted as more space is needed to enter your value. The height of the row will be adjusted to fit the new height of this multiple-line-text field when you move to another field or another page.
Any line in the field that is too long to fit in the width of the field will be wrapped to the next line in the field.
To restore the original value use Undo command on the Edit menu, or by pressing the Ctrl+Z key combination. This undo will revert back to the original value. Use undo again to restore the new value.
If this field is calculated then you will not be able to edit it directly. A calculated field has a different color than an entry field. When active a calculated field is gray and does not accept entries, while an editable field is white and does accept entries. For more information on editing calculated fields click here.
Navigation:
To move to the next field on this page press either the Tab key. Note that the Enter key does not move to the next field when the active field is a multiple-line-text field. Instead the Enter key is used to insert a new line into the field value. For more on navigating the fields of a page click here.
Available operations:
If the Drill Down button is enabled for this field then pressing this button will take you to the field from which the active field’s value is calculated. For more information on the drill down operation click here.
If the Drill Up button is enabled for this field then pressing this button will take you to the summary field where this field’s value is carried. For more information on the drill up operation click here.
If the Add Field Worksheet button is enabled then this field has worksheets that can be attached and used to calculate its value. Multiple-line-text fields almost always have the Expanded Description Worksheet available. But for some fields custom worksheets can be attached to assist in building complex description values.
Note that the worksheets available for the active field will also be shown in the Attachments List part of the Table of Contents pane.
If a worksheet is already attached for this field then pressing the Add Field Worksheet button will inform you of this and will ask if you want to open that worksheet, and pressing the Drill Down button will take you directly to this worksheet.
Grid row operations:
If this field is in a grid row, then the row operation buttons will be enabled on the Field Actions toolbar shown along the right of the screen. These buttons provide quick access to all grid row operations such as:
For more information on working with grids click here.
Field Formatting:
The appearance of a multiple-line-text field can be changed in many ways. You can specify its font and underline or bold it. You can change the horizontal alignment of the text within the field, and more. For more information click here.
Other:
This topic is shown when the More button is pressed on the Brief Help pane. It is also shown when a field on the page is clicked with the Help Cursor.
If the Brief Help pane is not showing then you should open and review its text for two reasons. 1) There may be custom instructions for this field that are shown only in the Brief Help pane. 2) The Brief Help pane will show text that describes the state of the active field, while the help system can not detect a field’s state.