How to Add an Overlay to a Text Field

Question:

In some fields I see gray text explaining what can be entered in the field. How do I add that text to a field?

Answer:

We call that gray text an “overlay” and you can add it to any text field through an option in the UI Configuration tool. (In HTML5, this came to be called a “placeholder,” but our feature came first!)

To add an overlay to a text field:

1. Go to the UI Configuration tool in the System Admin Dashboard.
2. Use the filters to select the correct Doc Type, Part and Item (field).
3. Check the Show Live Configuration checkbox.
4. If there is no user row for this field (user rows show edit and trash icons), click the copy icon to add a new row. If a user row already exists, you can modify that row.
5. Go to the Extended column and type Overlay= followed by whatever you want to appear in the field, followed by a semicolon. You cannot include a semicolon in your text. For example, Overlay=Number or NA; (shown below) will be displayed as shown above.
   
6. Save.

Overlay text will appear the next time the document is opened or refreshed.