What is a Converge Action?

The

Insert excerpt
_action_converge _action_converge nopanel true

 action is used to combine two or more paths together within an Actionflow, passing through attributes that are common to all incoming paths. It does not merge any records.  

Insert excerpt
_action_converge _action_converge nopanel true

 actions are useful where data has been split to be processed separately but then needs to be brought back together for an action that only accepts one input, e.g. a 

Insert excerpt
_action_save _action_save nopanel true

 action.

Creating Converge Actions

1. Click and drag the 

   Insert excerpt
   _action_converge _action_converge nopanel true

    icon from the toolbar onto the canvas
2. Enter a name for the Converge action, then select Create Action
   1. In the Converge Action 

      Insert excerpt
      _property_settings _property_settings nopanel true

       on the right, click the 

      Insert excerpt
      _add_icon _add_icon nopanel true

       icon in the Output Attributes section to add new attributes, if required
3. Connect to the Converge action by hovering over each input action node and selecting out, then create a new input connection point on the Converge action

Output Attributes

The Converge Node will only pass through attributes that are common to all paths, therefore, use Output Attributes to converge attributes to a common name. Once created, map to the Output Attributes using the attributes from incoming paths.

To check if a record in an Actionflow has a value mapped to an Output Attribute in a Converge Node, use the ifUnavailable function in a 

Insert excerpt
_action_calculate _action_calculate nopanel true

 action. See 1.11 Calculate Action Configuration.

For example, if there are three paths being passed into a Converge Node, and one of the paths does not have an attribute mapped to an output attribute, trying to reference that output attribute later in the Actionflow will throw an error on a record where there was no attribute mapped. The ifUnavailable function can be used to capture and handle this scenario.

HTML Comment
hidden true
Insert excerpt Converge Node Converge Node nopanel true

Worked Example

Here's a worked example using the Shop the Retail Data (available from the Learning Centre).

In this example, we are using:  

• A Customer Form screen containing blank input fields, set up to create a new customer  - this screen was created using the Edit Form template

Tip

If you are completing this chapter as part of the Actionflow course and using a training instance, the data and screens have already been pre-loaded into the Actionflow Intermediate Application. For this example, we'll be working on the Save button on the Customer Form screen. If you have completed 2.07 Embedded Actionflows prior to starting this worked example, ensure the Actionflow on the Save button on the Customer Form screen is  Insert excerpt _remove _remove nopanel true d. Then re-add a simple Save Action using the Form Actions wizard. Expand title How? Right-click on the screen and choose  Insert excerpt _actionflow_icon _actionflow_icon nopanel true  Add Form Actions. Drag Insert excerpt _save_icon _save_icon nopanel true  Save Record onto the Save button.

Process New Customers Differently Depending on Mailing List Subscription

For this example, we'll create an Actionflow that splits our data depending on if a new customer has joined a mailing list, allowing the customers who have joined to be processed separately. The new customer data for both the customer who have and haven't joined the mailing list is them converged back together so that the customer record can be updated with the current date and time (for the LastUpdated attribute), and the new customer record saved back to the table.

We recommend that you have prior knowledge of 

Insert excerpt
_action_gateway _action_gateway nopanel true

 actions and 

Insert excerpt
_action_email _action_email nopanel true

 actions or have completed 2.03 Gateway Action Configuration and 2.05 Email Action Configuration.

Initial Setup

1. Open the Customer Form and

   Insert excerpt
   _unlock _unlock nopanel true

    the screen
2. Open the Actionflow on the Save button
3. Click on the input connection point (under Connections) and map in the following attributes into the Actionflow:
   1. email
   2. first_name
   3. LastUpdated
   4. mailingList
4. Disconnect the 

   Insert excerpt
   _input _input nopanel true

   from the

   Insert excerpt
   _action_save _action_save nopanel true

    action on the canvas

Gateway Setup

1. Create a 

   Insert excerpt
   _action_gateway _action_gateway nopanel true

    action
   1. Name: Mailing List
2. Drag the 

   Insert excerpt
   _input _input nopanel true

    node onto the Gateway action
3. Map the mailingList attribute into the 

   Insert excerpt
   _action_gateway _action_gateway nopanel true

   action on the in connector
4. Click on the 

   Insert excerpt
   _action_gateway _action_gateway nopanel true

    node to open its Properties
   1. Toggle on, Exclusive
   2. Modify the existing Rule and

      Insert excerpt
      _add _add name add nopanel true

       another Rule, as detailed below:

      1. 
         

         Code Block
         theme Emacs title Name: EmailMe
         in.mailingList == true

         
         

      2. 
         

         Code Block
         theme Emacs title Name: DontEmailMe
         in.mailingList != true

         
         

5. Insert excerpt
   _save _save nopanel true

    the gateway settings

6. Hover over the Gateway action to show the 2 output connections

   1. Click on DontEmailMe, then click on any white space on the canvas and use the popup menu to create a new 

      Insert excerpt
      _action_converge _action_converge nopanel true

       action
      1. Name: CombineData
      2. Map across the customerID attribute
   2. Repeat with the EmailMe output connection and create a new 

      Insert excerpt
      _actionflow_icon _actionflow_icon nopanel true

       Embedded Actionflow

      1. Name: SendWelcomeEmail


         Expand
         title Checkpoint

         
         

Embedded Actionflow Setup

1. Click on the EmailMe connector and map in the attributes that will be needed to send a welcome email to the new customer:
   1. customerID
   2. email
   3. first_name
2. Hover over the Embedded Actionflow node and choose out to connect the SendWelcomeEmail Embedded Actionflow node to the CombineData

   Insert excerpt
   _action_converge _action_converge nopanel true

    action
   1. After clicking on the Converge node, choose Add Input and name the connection 
   2. Map across the customerID attribute
3. Right-click on the SendWelcomeEmail Embedded Actionflow and choose 

   Insert excerpt
   _actionflow_display _actionflow_display name display nopanel true

4. On the SendWelcomeEmail Actionflow, create a new 

   Insert excerpt
   _action_email _action_email nopanel true

    action
   1. Name: WelcomeEmail
5. Connect the

   Insert excerpt
   _input _input nopanel true

    node to the

   Insert excerpt
   _action_email _action_email nopanel true

    action
6. Map the same attributes as above into the Email action
7. Click on the Email Action to open its

   Insert excerpt
   _property_settings _property_settings nopanel true

    and

   Insert excerpt
   _pin _pin nopanel true

    the tab
8. For the From field, we need to use the email address specified as the login email in your Outbound Emailer; to find this, in the 

   Insert excerpt
   _repository _repository name full nopanel true

   , expand 

   Insert excerpt
   _emailConfiguration _emailConfiguration name accounts nopanel true

   1. Double-click on 

      Insert excerpt
      _emailConfiguration _emailConfiguration name icon nopanel true

       Outbound emailer and copy the login email 
9. Paste this into the From field on your pinned 

   Insert excerpt
   _action_email _action_email nopanel true

    properties, and enter the following:

   1. To:

      Code Block
      language js theme Emacs
      ${in.email}

      
      

   2. Subject:

      Code Block
      language js theme Emacs
      Welcome ${in.first_name}!

      
      

   3. is HTML: Toggle off 

      Insert excerpt
      _toggle_off _toggle_off nopanel true

       

   4. Message:

      Code Block
      language js theme Emacs
      Hello ${in.first_name} and welcome to the PhixFlow Shop Newsletter. Thank you for joining our mailing list. We'll send you news and offers every week!

      
      

      1. Leave all other fields blank

   5. Insert excerpt
      _finish _finish nopanel true

10. Hover over the Email action and select out

11. Click on the

    Insert excerpt
    _output _output nopanel true

     node under Connections to map the data back to the Save Actionflow 

    Expand
    title Checkpoint

    
    

Converge & Calculate Setup

1. Click back into the Actionflow for the Save button
2. From the CombineData 

   Insert excerpt
   _action_converge _action_converge nopanel true

    action, click out and create a 

   Insert excerpt
   _action_calculate _action_calculate nopanel true

    action
   1. Name: SetLastUpdated
   2. Map the attribute, LastUpdated, into the 

      Insert excerpt
      _action_calculate _action_calculate nopanel true

       action
3. On the Calculate action, add an Output Attribute:
   1. Name: SetLastUpdated
   2. Type: Datetime

   3. Expression: now()


      Expand
      title Checkpoint

      


Save Setup

1. Connect the Calculate action to the Save action
   1. Map across the customerID attribute from the Converge action to the Save

   2. Map across the SetLastUpdated attribute from the Calculate action to the LastUpdated attribute on the Save
      

      Expand
      title Checkpoint

      
      

Testing

To test the Actionflow we need to add two new customers. 

1. Close and reopen the Customer Form

2. Insert excerpt
   _lock _lock nopanel true

    the screen and enter the details for a new customer, ensuring:
   1. for the Email Address field, you enter your own email address
   2. for the "Would the customer like to join the mailing list?" field, you toggle the switch on 
3. After pressing Save, you should see the customer is saved on the Customer screen and you should receive an email 
4. Repeat these steps to create another customer, using your email address but this time, toggle off "Would the customer like to join the mailing list?"
5. Check that the customer is still created and saved on the Customer screen but that no email is received

2.11 Custom Validation