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Normal Form

Introduction

A Normal Form is the standard, fully autonomous page of the application. It represents a complete, navigable screen that the end user interacts with directly through the browser. This is the most common form type in zAppDev and the default choice for any new screen.

Characteristics

  • Has its own URL route and can be navigated to directly.
  • Is always rendered inside a Master Page, which provides the surrounding layout (header, footer, navigation menu, etc.). Every Normal Form must reference a Master Page at creation time.
  • Contains its own Model, Controller Actions, Logic (validations, conditional formatting, calculated expressions), Event Listeners, and Datasets.
  • Serves as the primary unit of UI composition in a zAppDev application — each feature screen (e.g. a product list page, a customer details page, a dashboard) is typically a Normal Form.
  • Supports the full range of UI controls available in the Toolbox.
  • Can embed Partial Views to reuse UI fragments without duplicating them across forms.

Relationship with the Master Page

Every Normal Form is always rendered inside a Master Page. The Master Page acts as the outer shell — it provides the persistent layout elements (header, navigation menu, footer, etc.) that surround the form's content. The Normal Form's own content is injected into the Master Page's designated content placeholder at runtime.

This means that a Normal Form only needs to define its own specific content. The surrounding chrome (menu, branding, footer) is inherited automatically from the Master Page it references. Multiple Normal Forms can share the same Master Page, and changing the Master Page propagates to all forms that use it.

When to Use

Use a Normal Form whenever you need to create a distinct, navigable page of the application. Examples include:

  • A product list or search results page
  • A data entry form for creating or editing a record
  • A dashboard or reporting screen
  • A settings or configuration page

If a screen needs its own URL and represents a complete, self-contained page of the application, it should be a Normal Form.

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