Custom Table altenate form, "Upload File" form control?

Hi Tom,

It depends on your use case for this field. If this is something when your CMS users would need to upload and store, you can use Media Selection control which allows selecting files from the media library and uploading files there as well. In this case, it will be a string field with URL to the media file.

But if you are going to present this form on a frontend of your website somehow I think this is not going to be a good idea. For this, it is better to use bizforms.

Dmitry...Thanks. You have helped me with answers before, and it is always appreciated (thank you). Anyways, it seems that other times I am on a Form (bizform), and it would be better suited for a Custom Table control. Now that this project is all Custom Tables - then the better option for this need was a bizform table. I will have to figure this out in some work around. Custom Tables and the use of their alternate forms is what this project is built on. If anything comes to mind, please post another response. Thanks. Tom

Tom, I understand your confusion, it's ok, we've all been there. It is important to understand what is the best fit for each feature. Let me give you a hint.

Basically, there are a few ways of storing custom table data in Kentico (as SQL tables):

1. Custom Tables
2. Module Custom Classes
3. Page Types (and pages in the CMS tree)
4. Forms (bizforms)

First three options should be used for content or something like that. When this data is populated by CMS admin or synchronized (imported) from third-party systems. It could be custom dictionaries, pages, products, locations, etc. To learn more when you should be using each option I'd recommend reading Sean G. Wright's blog post where he is explaining this in detail.

The last one, Forms (also called bizforms), is purely designed to store data captured on the frontend of the website. Something like contact us, register for event, sign up for newsletter, product enquiry form.

So, all in all, if you describe in more detail what you actually need to store or what the function is, it will be easier to help you because as you can see there is no golden standard of storing the data and all depends on your case. I hope it makes more sense now.

Dmitry,good information (thanks). This is a project that has been very successful for our company, we built it form scratch using Kentico as the CMS. It is a Leads Management process. So sales dealers, sales leads and admins (all depending on roles). That they can manage perspective sales leads from initial contact through quotes, and finally a given sale. The table structure we built it on is Custom tables. Tables includes a general Leads table, a History log table. Also, a table for dealers and sales leads, as well as tables to manage stored filters that the searching can be done in the leads on the client view portion (browser). Anyways, All the forms pointing and funneling the data into the "Leads" custom table have been alternate forms built on the same table. This project with success has grown exponentially, and we are always asked for new additions to it. The upload for sales reps on the "Lead" creation or update details forms (screens), is the latest. So I have used bizforms for much prior work --- you actually helped me out with calculators (and Brenden another MVP always said I should be using custom tables). Well anyways, for this scenario custom tables was the correct way to go. However, this is just one new add-on item that does not fit the Kentico options. I will need to figure out something custom for this need. Anyways, thanks again.

Dmitry -- Thanks for the 2nd reply back (sorry, I did not see it to today). This looks promising, and I will work through it. Rather than keep posting back and forth on the question queue (especially after marking a reply correct). Is there an option in which I can reach out to contact you. Thanks.

Sure thing! There is a Slack community channel I can send you an invite, there are lots of Kentico developers as well other MVPs. Feel free to drop your email address here or in my Twitter or Linkedin (can find in my profile here) direct messages and I'll send you the invite.