View/Edit Mode Switch on a Form?

[jezmck]

I have been asked to create a system in which there are view and edit modes for objects (such as clients / jobs / etc).

Rather than create a separate page for each view for each object type I wanted to use the Edit form, and disable the fields.

However, disabled fields look ugly and it's hard to read the text.

Has anyone done anything to make a 'view mode' for input fields, where there is no chrome, just plain text?

(I am aware of the thread asking about styling disabled fields, but I am hoping for a different mode entirely, perhaps more like a readonly mode where the user won't assume they can edit anything.)

If anyone has done anything along these lines, or has any other suggestion, please do let me know.

[evant]

I did something vaguely similar.

Basically rendered a bunch of asp.net forms in a normal html table. I also rendered a bunch of input elements, that are hidden. On the click of a button, I'd show up all of form elements and hide the data.

If you're looking for a pure Ext solution, this mightn't help so much.

[jezmck]

that might be what I have to do (though in PHP), but as you guessed, I would like a more Ext-y solution.

[jezmck]

shameful bump

[rudytheng]

is readOnly not sufficient for your case?

[jezmck]

perhaps, but I wasn't convinced that no-one else had had this requirement previously.