The following notes provide useful information on general interaction features of the client application that are used in many of the PhixFlow screens.
Double clicking
Double clicking items on a list (and elsewhere) generally opens the object definition form however for Stream Views, Dashboards, and Analysis Models PhixFlow will open the object representation e.g. the Chart implied by the Stream View. To open definition forms for these objects you need to use the "Edit" option on the context menu.
Selecting Items
Clicking an item "selects" it (the item will be highlighted) and any previously selected items will be deselected. To select multiple items, press the Control key at the same time as you click the item. This will add the new item to the list of selected items. Note that if the item clicked is already selected, it will be removed from the selection list. If you want to select a continuous list of items, select the first item on the list and then select the last item while holding down the Shift key.
Note that there are several places in PhixFlow where operations can be carried out on multiple selected items, for example object deletion.
Drag and Drop
The user can drag and drop the majority of object items within PhixFlow. The outcome of each drag/drop operation is dependent upon the context and is explained on help for each form however here are a few general tips:
- Objects can only be dragged/dropped between compatible forms i.e. only if it makes sense for the object to be dropped onto the target location.
- Many forms support drag/drop for multiple selected items.
- Items can be reordered by dragging and dropping on ordered lists i.e. lists where the order of the items is important e.g. the list of Stream Attributes for a Stream. Note that the list should be ordered in the (default) ordered state.
- On Analysis Model panes, single or multiple objects can be dragged off the modelling pane and onto another object by selecting the objects you want to drag and then holding down the Shift key and dragging the item(s). If the Shift key is not held down, the selected objects are just moved on the modelling pane.
- Stream Views can be dragged onto Dashboards to create your own layout.
Multiple object windows
To open a form in a new tab, drag the tab header onto the modelling pane. This will create a new pane for the form. To move a form to another pane, drag the header tab onto the destination pane.
Deleting Items
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User Menu
On the top right of the PhixFlow screen is the
menu, which has the following options:Option | Description |
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| _user_details |
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| _user_details |
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nopanel | true |
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| Opens a User Details Form allowing the user to change their own account settings (including their password). |
| Opens a browser window into PhixFlow's online support desk. Your designated support contacts will have login details. |
| Opens a new email window. |
| Shows general information about PhixFlow, in particular the current version that you are using. |
| Opens this online help system. |
| Returns PhixFlow to the startup screen so that the user must log back in to resume work. |
Administration Menu
On the bottom right of the PhixFlow screen is the
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| _administration |
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| _administration |
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nopanel | true |
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menu, which has the following options:Option | Description |
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| Import |
| Import stream data |
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| _admin_export |
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| _admin_export |
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nopanel | true |
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| Export |
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| _admin_export_open |
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| _admin_export_open |
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| Opens a window with export options |
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| _admin_stream_open |
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| _admin_stream_open |
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nopanel | true |
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| Opens window with stream export options |
Model Toolbar
Settings Tab Toolbar
When you open the settings for a model or one of its modelling objects, the settings tab has a toolbar at the top.
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| _finish |
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| _finish |
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nopanel | true |
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| Save the current settings and close the tab. |
| Save the current settings and keep the tab open. |
| Toggle between the current settings tab and one that was previously open. |
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| _forward |
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| _forward |
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nopanel | true |
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| _repository |
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| _repository |
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nopanel | true |
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| Find in Explorer. This icon will bring the repository browser tab to the front and will close all nodes except those leading to this object. You may need to scroll the explorer to see the selected object. |
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| _toolbar_squashed |
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| _toolbar_squashed |
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nopanel | true |
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| If there is insufficient space on the header bar then some buttons are moved into this drop-down menu. The following options are always on the drop-down menu: Insert excerpt |
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| _delete |
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| _delete |
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nopanel | true |
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| Delete the current object. Delete is:- permanent as there is no "undo" option
- everywhere, so if the object is used by other models, it is also deleted there.
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| _delete |
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| _delete |
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nopanel | true |
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| Close the current setting tab. You can also use the X on the tab itself. Image Added |
Settings Section Toolbars
Each settings tab can contain a number of sections. Each section has a header represented by a green bar with a small arrow before the section label which can be clicked to collapse and open the section.
Image Added
Some sections contain fields whereas other sections can contain grids. Sections which contain grids may have a number of icons on them to allow you to add and delete records, see a more detailed grid with more columns or refresh the current grid.
Image Added | Open up a grid showing more details about each item. |
Image Added | Delete the selected item or items. |
Image Added | Refresh the list (e.g. if the list has been updated on another computer by another user). |
Image Added | Create and insert a new item into the list. |
Windows barThe Windows bar appears in the bottom of the screen if 'Show Windows Bar' is selected from the footer bar. The Windows bar contains links to all open windows (both open and minimised). Click on a link to restore the window (if needed) and bring the window to the front of the screen. Each window link also has a context menu which allows you to close it directly.
Task barThe task bar is at the bottom of the PhixFlow window. On the left the number of currently running actions is shown. There is also the button to show/hide the windows bar. If there are any notifications on screen, they can all be dismissed in one go by clicking 'Dismiss notifications'. This will dismiss the green notification pop ups but not red error/failure messages.
On the right are icons which can be used to access different features:
Image Added | Show the System Console. This shows currently running tasks and log messages from processes run in PhixFlow. |
Image Added | Open Using the Repository Browser. This shows all of the available objects in your PhixFlow instance. |
Image Added | Administration Menu. Options to Import Configuration, Export Full Configuration or Open Export Pane |
Image Added | Switch between App Mode and Design Mode |
Context Menus
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