A significant enhancement to our form-building capabilities: the Dynamic Dropdown component! This powerful new feature allows you to populate dropdown options in real-time by fetching data from third-party applications. Say goodbye to stale, manually updated lists and hello to always-current, contextually relevant options for your users.

Dynamic Dropdowns not only fetch external data but also handle necessary data transformations for label-value mapping, support pagination, and allow for filtering, ensuring a seamless and efficient user experience, especially in integration-heavy workflows (e.g., showing relevant time-off types for an employee).

New Features & Enhancements

1. Dynamic Dropdown Component:

   1. A new form field type, "Dynamic Dropdown," is now available.

   2. This component fetches options live from external sources when the form loads or when dependent filter values change.

   3. Supports label-value mapping for displayed options.

   4. Handles pagination for large datasets from the source API.

   5. Allows for filtering of options based on configured parameters.

      
2. Flexible Endpoint Configuration: When configuring a Dynamic Dropdown, you now have two primary options for setting up the data source (with a third planned for the future):
   1. Custom:
      1. Define a custom API endpoint to fetch dropdown options.
      2. Configure support for necessary filters to be passed to your custom API.
   2. Pre-defined:
      1. Select from a list of pre-configured connectors and their available data C.
      2. This simplifies integration with commonly used third-party applications.\
      3. (Coming Soon: Configuration via Workflows Utility)
3. Detailed Configuration for Pre-defined Dynamic Dropdowns: If you choose the "Pre-defined" option, you'll be guided through the following setup:
   1. App Name: Select the relevant application name from your Synapse connections.
   2. Select Connector: Choose the specific connector associated with the selected app.
   3. Select Dropdown: Pick the type of dropdown data you want to fetch (e.g., "Time-off type," "User List," "Department List").
   4. Associated Configurations (Filters/Parameters): Define the parameters or filters required by the selected pre-defined dropdown. You can pass values from:

      1. User Parameters: Dynamically use attributes of the logged-in user.

      2. Form Fields: Use values from other fields on the current form as input.

      3. Static Text: Input fixed values.

      4. This configuration leverages the Data Center Layout (see below) for easy mapping of dynamic values.

         
4. Integrated Testing Capability:
   1. Easily test your Dynamic Dropdown configuration directly within the form builder.
   2. The "Test" option allows you to:
      1. Input static values for any configured filters or parameters.
      2. View the results (the options that would be fetched) based on your test inputs.
   3. A "Save" option is provided to store your Dynamic Dropdown configurations once you're satisfied.
5. Enhanced Data Center Layout for Dynamic Values:
   1. The Data Center layout can now be used to populate dynamic values for your Dynamic Dropdown configurations conveniently (and other applicable areas).
   2. The layout is segmented for clarity:
      1. Initiator Details: Access data like User ID, Employee ID, Email ID, Location, Designation, Department.
      2. Assignee Details: Access data like User ID, Employee ID, Email ID, Location, Designation, Department.
      3. Form Details: Access values from all other fields present in the current form.
   3. When a dynamic key is selected, its full path (e.g., initiator.email, form.fieldName) will be shown for easy reference.

Key Benefits

• Real-time Data: Ensure dropdown options are always up-to-date by fetching them live.
• Improved User Experience: Provide users with relevant and contextual choices, reducing errors and frustration.
• Reduced Manual Effort: Eliminate the need to create manually and maintain static option lists for data that exists in other systems.
• Seamless Integration: Easily connect your workflows to third-party applications for data retrieval.
• Increased Flexibility: Configure dropdowns with either custom APIs or pre-defined connectors to suit various integration needs.

Important Notes

• The "Workflows utility" option for configuring Dynamic Dropdown endpoints is planned for a future release.
• Performance of Dynamic Dropdowns will depend on the responsiveness of the configured external API endpoints. Ensure your endpoints are optimised for quick responses.