Shared Components Overview

   MaestroThe UI design product.  |    Form Builder  |  All versions This feature is related to all versions.

Maestro encourages you to reuse forms' components wherever possible by providing an easy way to share components across multiple forms and projects.

Shared components are custom built blocks that can be reused throughout forms and can be made available to multiple forms by publishing them to a project library or an organization library.

Shared components can be created by Form Builders or Template Designers for re-use and consistency among forms. They can consist of a single component or a collection of components wrapped in a block. Shared components can be published to a library, so they are available to other forms and templates within the project or organization.

You can create a shared component from within a form using existing components or blocks, or by using the component editor from the Components folder in the Maestro Management Dashboard.

A shared component is a custom-built component within the business. A shared component can be added to your form just like any other component. The difference with a shared component is that it can be updated outside of the form. In this case, all forms using that shared component are also updated. This is a great way to re-use common components, but also keep them consistent across multiple forms.

Once the shared component is added to the form, you can change the Component ID. If the ID includes an entity, you can apply the entity to the child components within the shared component.

Shared components can be developed within the Components folder in the Maestro Dashboard, or within a form or template.

Shared components can be published to any category within the Palette panel. The default location is the Custom Components folder, but you can change it anytime. A shared component becomes available to all forms and form versions withing a project. It means if you update this component, the changes will be available to all forms. If you want that only some certain form versions use the updated shared component, while the other form versions continue using the previous shared component, you should create a new version of a project library with the updated component. Alternatively, you can split the form into its own project that makes use of the updated shared component (as a library).

Organizations usually build shared components for the following reasons:

• Consistency - to ensure that a component looks and functions the same wherever it is used.
• Encapsulation of complexity - to allow complex components to just be dropped in and used, without having to understand the internal implementation. This is particularly useful when a component makes dynamic data calls to back-end services.
• Productivity - allow forms to be built faster.
• Enable change - if a component needs to be changed, all the forms that use it will automatically inherit the changes.

Next, learn how to create a shared component.