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Drill-Down

Summary

Drill-down fields are read-only fields that navigate to related data when activated. Press Ctrl+Enter to open the source data.

Purpose

Some fields represent computed or reference values that the user should be able to investigate — a customer's balance, a linked document number. Drill-down lets the user navigate to the underlying data without leaving the keyboard.

User-facing behavior

Drill-down fields render with a distinctive style (typically yellow bold text), always read-only. This visual distinction tells the user: "you can drill down into this."

Ctrl+Enter opens the source data. F2 and typing are ignored (the field is not editable). See Keyboard Shortcuts for all alternates.

How it works

The client fetches the field's lookup.endpoint URL. The server returns a standard ScreenContract (List, Card, or HeaderLines). The client pushes it onto the screen stack. Esc pops back.

Multi-level drill-down

Drill-downs can nest. Each level is a standard screen on the stack.

Customer Card (Balance: 45,000)
  └── Ctrl+Enter → Ledger Entries List
        └── Enter → Ledger Entry Card
              ├── Ctrl+Enter on Customer No. → Customer Card
              └── Ctrl+Enter on Document No. → Invoice Card

Edge cases

  • Computed values recalculate after a save — the server returns updated values in the save response
  • The drill-down response can be any layout
  • If no drill-down is available for a field, the server returns a "not found" screen

Example

A customer's Balance field shows $45,000. The user presses Ctrl+Enter:

  1. Client sends GET /drilldown/balance_lcy/10000
  2. Server returns a List of ledger entries that sum to $45,000
  3. User browses entries, presses Enter on one to open the card
  4. Esc twice returns to the customer card

Drill-down vs Lookup

Drill-down and lookup share the same key bindings and lookup mechanism. The client determines behavior from the field properties. See Server Drill-Down for the comparison.