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This page is for application designers who need to create views of data and bind them to components on screens. Todo-Anthony- check this page is correct when the GUI is finalised.

Overview

PhixFlow stores data in tables

, formally known as streams. Tables can contain more data than you want to show to a user on the screen. For this reason, whenever you show data on a screen, you first compile a view of the data. A view is made up

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s are used to display the data in these tables, where only the information specified is shown.

Views Consist of:

  1. Attributes
    1. Attributes from the base table
.

    1. Specify which attributes to include in your view. You can hide attributes that you want access to but do not necessarily want a user to see
. For Example
    1. , such as the UID of a record.
    2. Attributes from related tables.
      These are the attributes available to the view as the table they originate from shares a relationship with the base table as defined in the ERDs; see 
Understanding ERDs and Views
    1. Entity Relationship Diagrams. Views which contain these type of attributes are referred to as a relational view.
  1. Records:

    1. For each table, the view includes records specified in the tables default period. This can be all data (usually for transactional data)
, Components:The following components are specifically designed to display a view:
    1. or only the latest.
  • Can be sorted, filtered and ordered.
    1. Sorting and Filtering
      1. You can filter and sort records. See Filtering and Sorting Data.

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    Components

    Data can be displayed in different ways.

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      : the attributes form the grid columns and data records are displayed in rows. PhixFlow can add scroll bars or paging where grids cannot be accommodated by the screen size.
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    1. card
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      : rather than using a form to display data, you can use a card. Any palette item can be added to a card which offered great flexibility.
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      : attributes are represented in different segments of a pie chart, with values aggregated to represent the segment size. 
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      : attributes are represented on the vertical axis, with values aggregated and represented in the bar length.
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      : attributes are represented on the horizonal axis, with values aggregated and represented in the bar height.
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    These views can be added a screen, content can typically be added by dragging specific attributes from a table onto it. In the case os card any palette item can be added
    1. : attributes are represented as points on a horizontal axis, with values aggregated and setting the point position on the vertical axis.
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      : attributes are represented by different fields. Usually a form is linked to an action on a grid. For example, the application user selects a line on a grid, and the form displays the data from that record.

    Form and card components are special data components, as they can contain other elements, usually fields and labels.

    How to Create and Display

    a ViewAs views are designed to display

    Data

    For more information on setting up charts and graphs, see Creating Dashboards and Reports.

    Step 1: Select a Table

    1. There are several ways to show data on a screen

    , creating a view includes binding it to a component.

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    Step 1  Select a table

    Drag a table onto a screen, this can be achieved by dragging
  • a table from the list in the repository.
  • a table icon from a table's properties
    1. :

      1. From an Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD), select a table and use the Create Screen option; see Creating a Screen from an ERD Table.
      2. Drag a Table from the repository or a tables icon from its properties directly onto a screen.
        1. A list of available tables is available by clicking the Tables button on the toolbar.
        2. This method will typically set the data for the backing form to that of the table.
    2. PhixFlow asks you how you want the data to be displayed, select
    a data component
    1. the desired option:
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    2. The
    view will be
    1. data is added to the screen.

    Step

    2: Select

    attributes

    the Attributes

    1. Drag attributes from the
    Attribute Selection
    1. Available Attributes window onto the
    view
    1. screen.
    2. Start with attributes from the current (base
    stream
    1. ) table.
      1. Optionally, click on related
    streams
      1. tables to show additional attributes that are available.
    1. When you have
    added
    1. dragged all the attributes you require, close the window.
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    3. These attributes can be changed by selecting the 
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       button in the toolbar to add new attributes or right-clicking and selecting
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       to change existing attributes
      1. See Available Attributes Window for details.

    Step

    3: Apply

    filtering

    Filtering and

    sorting for recordsYou have now created your view and added it to a screen.

    Sorting

    Optionally, specify if you want to apply any filters or sort orders to the data

    records

    :

    1. Select the
    view

    Attribute Selection

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    1. component you have added.
  • You may need to right click the view and select Show Stream View Configuration.
  • The properties tab opens:
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  • Select an existing Default Sort Order, Default Filter or Background Filter
    1. Note the filter are applied when the use sees the view, however the default view can be removed by the user.
    1. On the

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      , in the Background Filter Rules section filters can be added by filters can be added by pressing 
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      1. For Grids, Sort Orders and Default Filters can be added by right-clicking on the grid and selecting 

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        , then select an existing Sort Order or Filter, or create a new one in the Data Retrieval Options section, see Sort Order and Filter for more detail.

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    2. Save all your changes and PhixFlow applies the filters.

      Tip

      Users can remove a Default Filter, where as Background Filters are permanent.


    Reusing Views

    Once you have created a view, you can reuse it in multiple

    location

    locations. In the repository navigate the the table which

    onws

    owns the view, the base table,

    and this can be dragged onto a

    open the table and in the views section drag the desired view onto your screen. Be aware however that changes made to the view will affect all instances of that view.

    Form

    Fields Names

    Field Name

    When you drag attributes from the Attribute Selection window or table onto a form, PhixFlow adds a field and label for each attribute. By default, the label is the attribute's name. However, for an attribute from a related

    stream

    table, the Display Name will be shown and not the foreign key value.

    For example:

    ExampleBase TableRelated TableValue DisplayedForm Field Label
    syntaxtable.UIDRelatedTable.ForeignKeyRelatedTable Attribute set to DisplayName-
    Example SyntaxCompany.UIDSupplier.RelatedCompanySupplier attribute set to RelatedCompanyNameRelated Company Name
    Example Values 10241024"Cloud and Pixel Ltd"Related Company Name

    For information about primary and foreign keys and the Display Name option; see 

    Understanding ERDs and ViewsClick Insert excerpt_data_bind_data_bindnopaneltrue.When the component has data bound to it, the  Insert excerpt_attributes_show_attributes_shownopaneltrueand Insert excerpt_filter_filternopaneltrueicons become available.

    Step 2  Select a parent stream

    1. Enter a name for the view.
    2. Select a stream from the list. This stream is the basis for the data view.
      Alternatively, create a new stream. 
    3. Click Next.
      PhixFlow creates a view and open's its properties.

    Step 3  Select attributes

    • To add attributes individually, drag each attribute from the Attribute Selection window onto a component.  As you add attributes to the data component, PhixFlow ticks them in the Attribute Selection window.
      • Start with attributes from the base stream.
      • Optionally, click on related stream to show additional attributes that are available.  
    To create a grid with multiple columns, select multiple attributes:
  •  Tick the base stream attributes that you want to be available in the view.
  • Optionally, click on related streams to show additional attributes that are available.  Again, tick the attributes you want to be available in the view. 
  • Drag attributes into the parent area, or empty data component.
  • PhixFlow adds all the attributes to the data component

    Alternative setup

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    Step 1  Starting Points

    Option 2

    1. From the palette, drag a data component, such as a grid or chart onto the screen canvas.

    Option 2

  • On the dashboard canvas, select a component to which you want to bind data to show the pop-up toolbar. This is usually an area component that will become a parent component.
    Image Removed The red exclamation icon shows that a component has no data bound to it. 

  • Tip

    If a form field or dynamic text field exists on a screen, it will link to an attribute in the data backing the screen by name, however you can also right-click on these components and select Change Backing Attribute to link it to any available attribute.