Tallis Composer User Interface: Enquiry Sources
Collecting data
An enquiry can hold several requests for data, each known as a source.
Creating a Source From Scratch
Sources are based on data definitions. When you create a source from scratch, Composer creates a new data definition for it by default. To create a Source from scratch, enter the following information:
| Name | An alphanumeric string representing the source’s ID (e.g.: Symptoms). |
| Caption | The caption is displayed to the end-user when the enquiry is enacted (e.g.: What are the patient’s symptoms?) |
| Data Type | The collected data can be of one of four types: text (string), integer, real, or boolean (e.g.: Symptoms could be of type Text) |
| Range | The collected data can be of a limited range of values (i.e., the end-user will have to select one of these predefined values; e.g.: Symptoms could be: Headache, Nausea, Vomiting, Sensitivity to light) |
| Default Value | The collected data can have a default value. The default value is used to pre-populate the data entry dialogue box when the enquiry is enacted. |
| Selection mode | When range values of a source are mutually exclusive, only one of them should be selected. If the end-user has to select one value, selection mode should be set to single-value. If the end-user can select more than one value, the selection mode should be set to multi-value (multi-selection is only available for sources with range values). |
| Status | The status of a source determines the behaviour of the enquiry during enactment. When the status is mandatory, the enquiry remains in progress until all the data is collected and only then completes. When the status is optional, the enquiry completes as soon as all the mandatory sources are given values. |
When all the data is entered, click Add.
The new source will be added to the Source list.
Creating a Source Based On an Existing Data Definition
You can use existing data definitions to create a new source. Click the button to the right of the Name field 
. The Data Definition List dialog appears.
Select the data definition on which you want to base your source, and click OK. The Data Definition properties will populate all the fields accept for Status.
Select the appropriate status, and click Add.
The new source will be added to the Source list.