This page is for application designers who want to create screens for application users.
Overview
This page explains the screen properties. For information on how to divide a screen into different panes, and how to add components to it, see Splitting a Screen.
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| _property_toolbar |
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| nopanel | true |
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| _property_tabs |
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| name | basic-h |
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| nopanel | true |
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| _parent |
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| _parent |
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| nopanel | true |
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Basic Settings
| Field | Description |
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| Name | The name of the screen. |
| Open Maximised | | Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| nopanel | true |
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to open the screen maximised. | Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| nopanel | true |
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to open the screen as a pop-up popup window. |
| Allow User to Resize | | Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| nopanel | true |
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to enable the application user, when running in | Insert excerpt |
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| _app_mode |
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| _app_mode |
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| nopanel | true |
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, to resize the screen. | Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| nopanel | true |
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to keep the screen size fixed when running in in | Insert excerpt |
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| _app_mode |
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| _app_mode |
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| nopanel | true |
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. This option does not affect resizing the screen in | Insert excerpt |
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| _design_mode |
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| _design_mode |
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| nopanel | true |
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. |
| Show Toolbar | | Insert excerpt |
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| _design_mode |
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| _design_mode |
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| nopanel | true |
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always has a toolbar with the screen name on the left and toolbar icons on the right. | Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| nopanel | true |
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to also display the toolbar in | Insert excerpt |
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| _app_mode |
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| _app_mode |
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| nopanel | true |
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. The screen name is displayed. Toolbar icons are not displayed.| Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| nopanel | true |
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is the default as the toolbar is usually not required in | Insert excerpt |
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| _app_mode |
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| _app_mode |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Show Window Button Bar | | Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| nopanel | true |
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to display a Windows-style bar at the top of the screen. This has a maximise/restore button and a close button. 
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| _check_box_untick |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| nopanel | true |
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to have no Windows-style bar at the top of the screen. |
| Always On Top | | Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| nopanel | true |
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to keep the screen on top of other screens. This is useful for a pop-up popup window that you want a user to complete before returning to another screen. | Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| nopanel | true |
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to allow other screens to be displayed in front. |
| Keep Data | | Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| nopanel | true |
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to allow screen data to be referenced even after the screen is closed. This is useful if an application user needs access to global data available in the system. | Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| nopanel | true |
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is the default. The screen data is not required once the screen is closed. |
| Preload | screens , especially complex screens, can take some time to open, which can feel slow to the application user. Use this option when you need a screen to open quickly. Preloading screens adds to the time it takes PhixFlow to initially start up. For this reason we recommend you only preload screens that an application user will always want to open. | Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| nopanel | true |
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to preload the screen when PhixFlow first starts. When the user then opens the screen , it displays immediately. The data itself may still take time to load.| Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| nopanel | true |
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is the default. The screen does not need to be preloaded. Preloading relates to the screen itself. Any data backing the screen is only loaded when the screen opens, and this may also take time to load. |
| Cache Locally | If an application user is likely to require the same screen in different stages of a task. Use this option so that, when the user closes and reopens the screen, it loads immediately. | Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| nopanel | true |
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to cache the screen on the application user's client computer when the screen first opens. | Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| nopanel | true |
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is the default. The screen does not need to be cached. Caching relates to the screen itself. Any data backing the screen will be reload each time the screen is opened. |
| Position | By default, new screens are set to Floating. If you want a screen to open with a fixed position, select one of the Pinned drop-down options: - Pinned to top
- Pinned to bottom
- Pinned to left
- Pinned to right
- Floating
Use the Pinned options to create a permanently visible screen. This is useful for a navigation area or toolbar that you want to be visible for all other screens. Floating screens do not overlap with pinned screens. When the user maximises a Floating screen, it expands only to the remaining space. |
Width | For screens that are not set to Open maximised, specify a screen width in pixels, for example 500px for a small confirmation window. The default size for a pop-up popup screen approximately 800px. |
| Height | For screens that are not set to Open maximised, specify a screen height in pixels, for example 150px for a small confirmation window. The default size of a pop-up popup screen is approximately 500px. |
| Top | Available when Position is Floating. For screens that are not set to Open maximised, set an offset value in pixels to position the screen where it is required. For example, to display a screen as a pop-up popup window towards the top left of the screen, set: |
| Left |
| Right |
| Bottom |
Screen Elements
Screen elements are specific sections on a screen that posses their own properties, specifically each element can be backed by a different table.
To view a list of the elements for a specific screen, open the
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| _property_settings |
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| _property_settings |
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| nopanel | true |
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available from the screen toolbar;
see Screen Element. This section has a toolbar with standard buttons and:
-
Image Modified Show Table-actions | Insert excerpt |
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| _filter |
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| _filter |
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| nopanel | true |
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The grid contains a list of menu items. To add a menu item to the list, click
- Click
- Select
- PhixFlow opens a new properties tab for a menu item or sub-menu; see Startup Actions for details.
To remove a menu, use the toolbar button
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| _delete |
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| _delete |
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| nopanel | true |
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.
Mappings
This section has a toolbar with standard buttons.
Components on the screen, such as buttons or data-components, can have actionflows or record-actions. Record-actions can take data from attributes in different tables or views. Where the attributes have different names, you must map the attribute, so that the record-action recognises the data. This grid contains a list of mappings for the components on this screen.
To configure a mapping, in the screen, right-click a component and select | Insert excerpt |
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| _mapping |
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| _mapping |
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| nopanel | true |
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.
Unreachable Actions
This section has a toolbar with standard buttons. The grid displays a list of actionflows that are linked to components on the screen, but do not exist yet.
Actions
This section has a toolbar with standard buttons. The grid displays a list of actions and record-actions that are linked to the screen.
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| _description |
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| _description |
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| nopanel | true |
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| _access |
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| _access |
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| nopanel | true |
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There is a toolbar above the screen canvas. This provides the following options:
| List options |
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| _tables |
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| _tables |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Open the repository showing the list of available tables for your application. |
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| _screen_toolbar |
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| _screen_toolbar |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Open the repository showing the list of available screens for your application. |
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| _actionflow |
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| _actionflow |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Open the repository showing the list of available actionflows for your application. |
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| _palette |
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| _palette |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Open the list of palettes. |
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| _styles |
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| _styles |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Open the repository showing the list of available styles for your application. |
| Canvas options |
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| Open the help topic with details about working with screens. |
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| _property_settings |
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| _property_settings |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Open the properties tab for the screen. |
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| _layout_unlock |
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| _layout_unlock |
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| nopanel | true |
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or | Insert excerpt |
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| _layout_lock |
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| _layout_lock |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Unlock a screen to edit its layout. Lock a screen to prevent accidental edits and to display the data content. |
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| _refresh |
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| _refresh |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Update the screen to reflect changes made elsewhere in PhixFlow, such as the screen properties, layer orders or shared styles. |
Right-click on a screen to display its pop-up popup menu. The options available depend on where you click. If there are many options, some are moved onto the sub-menu
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| _screen |
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| _screen |
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| nopanel | true |
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Options.
| Menu option | Description |
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| _layout_unlock |
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| _layout_unlock |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Unlock a screen to edit its layout. |
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| _layout_lock |
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| _layout_lock |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Lock a screen to prevent accidental edits and to display the data content. |
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| _context_parameters |
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| _context_parameters |
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| nopanel | true |
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| For screens created in PhixFlow versions 8.3 and earlier, open a window listing the context parameters in alphabetical order. |
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| _element_show |
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| _element_show |
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| nopanel | true |
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| For screens created in PhixFlow versions 8.3 and earlier, open the properties for the screen element. |
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| _area_above |
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| _area_above |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Use these options to divide a screen into multiple, resizable panes. Select the option to add a pane relative to the currently selected pane. To remove a pane, use the popup menu options | Insert excerpt |
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| _delete |
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| _delete |
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| nopanel | true |
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Pane. |
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| _area_right |
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| _area_right |
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| nopanel | true |
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| _area_below |
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| _area_below |
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| nopanel | true |
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| _area_left |
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| _area_left |
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| nopanel | true |
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| _area_lock_width |
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| _area_lock_width |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Fix the height or width of the selected pane. You will no longer be able to resize a pane by dragging its dividing line. |
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| _area_lock_height |
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| _area_lock_height |
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| nopanel | true |
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| _delete |
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| _delete |
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| nopanel | true |
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| When a specific component is selected, delete the component. Delete options depend on the selected item, for example: - Delete Selected Objects
- Delete Pane
- Delete Form
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| _remove |
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| _remove |
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| nopanel | true |
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Element | Remove the selected item from the screen, whilst leaving it in the repository. |
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| _element_delete |
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| _element_delete |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Delete a screen element. |
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| _form_new |
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| _form_new |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Create a new form in the current area. |
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| _pin_unpin |
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| _pin_unpin |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Pin a component to fix its position; see Pinning and Unpinning. |
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| _palette |
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| _palette |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Open the palette to drag in components. |
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| _autosize |
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| _autosize |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Toggle whether or not the currently selected component is automatically auto sized when an application window is resized by the user. | Note |
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Using this option, or manually resizing a component may change the state of the Layout → Style Settings → Auto Size property. |
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| Options to arrange the selected components: | Insert excerpt |
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| _align_left |
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| _align_left |
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| nopanel | true |
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: Align the left edges of all the selected components to the component that is furthest to the left. | Insert excerpt |
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| _align_right |
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| _align_right |
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| nopanel | true |
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: Align the right edges of all the selected components to the component that is furthest to the right. | Insert excerpt |
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| _align_top |
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| _align_top |
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| nopanel | true |
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: Align the top edges of the selected components to the component that is positioned highest. | Insert excerpt |
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| _align_bottom |
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| _align_bottom |
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| nopanel | true |
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: Align the bottom edges of the selected components to the component that is positioned lowest. | Insert excerpt |
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| _align_horizontal |
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| _align_horizontal |
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| nopanel | true |
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: Equally distribute the selected components horizontally in the available space. | Insert excerpt |
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| _align_vertical |
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| _align_vertical |
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| nopanel | true |
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: Equally distribute the selected components vertically in the available space. |
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| _repository_find |
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| _repository_find |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Open the repository with to see the selected component in the list. This can be useful if you want to move a component. |
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| _screen_properties |
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| _screen_properties |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Open the properties tab for the screen. |
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| _record_show |
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| _record_show |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Display information about the table and its records. |
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| _mapping |
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| _mapping |
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| nopanel | true |
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| Opens a new mapping element properties tab where you can map attributes with different names to components. |
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| _children |
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| _children |
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| nopanel | true |
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| For the selected parent container, select all the child components. |
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| _table_properties |
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| _table_properties |
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| nopanel | true |
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or Show the Table Configuration | Open the properties for the table. |
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| _attributes_show |
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| _attributes_show |
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| nopanel | true |
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...
| Show the list of attributes that are bound to the component. The attributes can be from a table or view. This is shown in the option: | Insert excerpt |
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| _attributes_show |
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| _attributes_show |
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| nopanel | true |
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for table <name>| Insert excerpt |
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| _attributes_show |
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| _attributes_show |
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| nopanel | true |
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for view <name>
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Unreachable ActionsA workflow can have placeholder actionflows linked to a screen. If the actionflow has not been wired then it is listed here. Open on Startup You may have a screen that acts as your application's welcome window. Use this option to open a screen whenever the application starts. | Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| _check_box_tick |
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| nopanel | true |
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to open the screen when the application starts. | Insert excerpt |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| _check_box_untick |
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| nopanel | true |
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is the default. The screen is opened by a user interacting with the application. |