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This page is for any user of PhixFlow. It explains the different areas in the PhixFlow interface.

Overview

PhixFlow appears slightly different depending on how you are using it.

Application User

You do all your tasks using one or more PhixFlow applications. You may work on:

  • a desktop or laptop computer
  • a mobile device, such as a tablet or smartphone.

In this case, you run PhixFlow in Image RemovedApp Mode. ??Update Icon

Application Designer

You use PhixFlow to design applications. As well as creating screen layouts, you manage the data for the application and wire in actionflows. We recommend that you use design mode on a desktop computer as you require screen space to build analysis models and design application screens.  For these tasks, you run PhixFlow in Image Removed Design Mode. ??Update Icon

Data Modeller

PhixFlow has a powerful tool called analysis models . You can create analysis models to import, processing and export data. This can be part of your application, or may be for batch processing of data not related to an application. To model data,  you run PhixFlow in Image Removed Design Mode. ??Update Icon

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Application Mode

When you log into PhixFlow to use an application, the Welcome screen lists all the applications available to you. 
??What happens for an AppUser on login, I will make you a screenshot

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??Mock up. Needs header bar label.  Admin maybe?

Applications are shown as a set of cards. You can use the buttons on the right to switch between a card and a list view.

Click anywhere in a card to run the application. PhixFlow always asks if you want to confirm any action, including opening an application. Click Yes to continue. When you load an application, all the window except the grey header bar, is an application designed by your company. It will have its own menus and navigation, to provide you with the options you need. 

You can return to the Welcome window at any time by clicking on the ??Add dot iconThe PhixFlow logo also returns to the Welcom window. However, this logo is not present if:

  • you are running PhixFlow on a mobile device
  • your administrator has configured PhixFlow logo to display your company logo instead.

See also: Application Menu.

On Mobile Devices

What's visible on mobile??

PhixFlow applications are often deployed on mobile devices, such as tablets

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Overview

PhixFlow has two distinct modes depending on what you need to do.

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Application designers use this mode to create and configure applications. This includes:

We recommend designing applications on a desktop or laptop computer, as you require screen space to configure PhixFlow. When designing, you can switch between 

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 and 
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, where you can see your application in action by clicking the mode icon in the top right of the PhixFlow window.

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Application users run PhixFlow applications in this mode.
PhixFlow displays only essential menus and toolbars in 

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. Your administrator usually configures PhixFlow so that an application user has no access to 
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. Instead, application users work within an application and use the application's menus and navigation to complete tasks.

You can run a PhixFlow application on:

  • desktop or laptop computers
  • mobile devices, such as a tablet or smartphone.

An application designer can configure application user access to the specific applications and data that they need; see Controlling User Access to Applications.

How to use Application Mode

Opening an Application

When you log in, PhixFlow displays the Welcome window and the application menu. Anytime you want to return to the application menu, in the top left corner of the PhixFlow window, click 

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.

You can change the layout of the application menu, using icons in the top right of the application window. 

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To open an application:

  1. Double-click anywhere in a card or on a list line
  2. PhixFlow asks you to confirm
  3. Click Yes to continue to the application's Home window.
    From here you can select an aspect of your application on which to work

To create a new application from the application menu, click the 

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 button on the left of the menu; see Creating an Application.

Using Applications on Mobile Devices

PhixFlow supports mobile devices, such as tablets and phones. This means team members can access and update data whilst

in

on the

field

move. As mobile devices have less screen space available, the header bar is simplified to show the icons:

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     –
 the options
  • option available
depend
  • depending on
your
  • user's permissions
.The

Application Help

Application designers are responsible for providing help about how to use an application.

Design Mode

Working on an Application

The Welcome window lists all the applications available to you. 

Applications are shown as a set of cards. You can use the buttons on the right to switch between a card and a list view. You can change the view from tile to list view or search for an application by name. This is also where you can find links to the latest videos from the learning centre.

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To return to the Welcome window, click ??Add Application list icon or PhixFlow logo in the top right.

The PhixFlow logo is not present if:

  • you are running PhixFlow on a mobile device
  • your administrator has configured PhixFlow logo to display your company logo instead.

The ??Add Application list icon is always present.

??Add link to the Application page

If you do not want to work on something that is in an application, such as an analysis model, click the repository icon on the right. The repository list slides open and you can search for the item you want to work on.

Application Design Home Window

In Design Mode, when you select an application to work on PhixFlow shows the Application Design Home window. 

Click anywhere in a card to open the application. PhixFlow always asks if you want to confirm any action, including opening an application. Click Yes to continue. 

When you select an application:

In  Insert excerpt_design_mode_design_modenopaneltrue, PhixFlow loads the application. This means the repository shows only the items for the application.

From here you can select one of main application items on which to work.

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PhixFlow Window Areas

PhixFlow is a visual tool for developing applications or modelling data. There are several different diagrams that you can work on, such as workflows, ERDs, screen layouts and analysis models.

The following labelled screenshot shows the main areas of the PhixFlow window when you are working on a diagram, in this case an ERD.

Design mode has a workspace on the left and the repository tab on the right. The repository lists the items in PhixFlow to which you have access. If the repository is not visible, click the  Insert excerpt_repository_repositorynopaneltrue icon in the bottom left of the window.

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How to use Design Mode

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is a powerful tool for configuring applications that help automate business processes.

You can:

  • plan the workflows and tasks for application users 
  • define data structures
  • design application screens
  • configure user interactions for buttons and options on a screen, so that an application user can make changes to specific data records
  • import, batch process and export large volumes of data using analysis models. 
    This means PhixFlow can exchange data with your existing systems and databases

Loading an Application

When you first log into 

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, PhixFlow displays the a list of the applications available to you. To return to the application menu at any time, click 
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in the top left. 

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In the application menu, applications are shown as cards or as a list. To switch view, click the icons in the top right of the application window.

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To load an application:

  1. Click anywhere in a card or on a list line
  2. PhixFlow asks how you would like to load the application (load in current tab, new tab or new window) 
  3. Click an option to continue to the application's Home window. 
    From here you can select an aspect of your application on which to work

To create a new application from the application menu, click the 

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 button on the left of the menu; see Creating an Application.

Home Window and Workspace

When you load an application, PhixFlow opens its home window.

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This window layout remains the same when you select different things to work on. For example, the following screenshot shows an entity relationship diagram (ERD). In addition to the repository, you can see that the right panel is displaying context help for ERDs.

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The home window has the following parts.

Header Bar 
Anchor
TaskBar
TaskBar

??Search and replace whole help task bar → header barOn Desktop or Laptop Computers

For desktop or laptop computers, the task bar shows:

on the left:the 

The header bar runs across the full width of the PhixFlow Window. It shows, from left to right:

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 button
  • the number of currently running actions
  • in design mode, the number of windows open in the workspace
  • the right of the grey status bar at the bottom of the screen shows the status of any actions, and lists how many items, such as models or dashboards, are open
  • AnchorformBarformBarWhen there are several model windows or dashboards open in the workspace you can Show/Hide Windows Bar; see 13 Using the Windows Bar. This displays icons for all the open windows (both open and minimised). Click on a link to maximise or bring a window to the front of the workspace. Each icon also has a context menu which allows you to close it.on the right: the user name of the currently logged in user, and the following icons. For information about these icons; see Menu Options and Toolbar Buttons.
    • : reopen the application menu to load a different application
    •  
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      : also opens the application menu. Depending on the way your administrator has configured PhixFlow, this logo may be replaced by your company logo
    • Quick access to the main activities:
      • Home
      • ERDs
      • Workflows
      • Screens
      • Actionflows
      • Analysis Models
    • The name of the PhixFlow server on which you are working
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      : options to manage your user details, passwords and to 
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    • Open the 
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    console
    • repository
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    • Open the Learning Centre 
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    console
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    • Open the 
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    administration
    • chat_bot
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     –  the options available depend on your permissions.
    •  Chat Bot
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    • administration
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       lists the system options, including the 
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    repository
    • console
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      , which monitors different processes and tasks; see Administration Menu. The options you see depend on your permissions. .
    • The option to switch to the other PhixFlow mode,
      • either 
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     or 
      • or 
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        .
  • In design mode, PhixFlow displays green, blue or red notification pop-ups on screen. You can click Dismiss notifications to close all green and blue notifications. You must close red error messages individually.
  • The Repository, Items and Properties

    When you open PhixFlow in design mode, PhixFlow opens the Repository tab on the right of the screen; see Using the Repository

    Double-click on an item in the repository to open its properties tab. Here you can set the properties for modelling objects and application components. 

    In addition to having properties, you can open and edit some items in the workspace on the left. These are:

    •  Analysis Models: represent the flow and transformation of data.
    •  Stream Views: display the data in streams as tables (called grids) and charts.
    •  Dashboards: combine several stream views. Application screens are dashboards with more complex layouts, including menus and actions. 

    To display and update these items:

    1. From the repository, open the item's properties.
    2. From the toolbar on the properties tab, click the icon for the item, which is its Display option.
    3. PhixFlow opens the item in the workspace on the left. 
    Property Tabs 

    Workspace and Tabs

    Every diagram or screen that you have open in the workspace has a tab at the top. Click on a tab to switch between different open items in the workspace.

    Popup Toolbar

    This toolbar has options specific to the item on which you are working. 

    Layers Panel

    When you are working on screen design, PhixFlow displays a Layers panel on the left of the screen. This panel shows how the different items on the screen are related to each other, and highlights any element you have selected. Click the 

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     to show or hide the Layers panel.

    Right Panel

    On the right there are several things that PhixFlow can display. You can click the 

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     to hide all the tabs that are open in the right panel:

    • Context Help
      Context help is available for all major activities within PhixFlow. It consists of a short video to help you get started and a set of links to key areas within the topic and further informationTo configure whether or not the context help is displayed, use your User Details → Show Contextual Help option.

    • Repository
      List all of the items that you can use; see Using the Repository.

    • Properties
      Click on the name of an item to open its properties

    tab
    • on the right. Usually PhixFlow opens each property

    tab
    • pane in the same space and automatically closes any saved property

    tab
    • pane

      • To switch between
    tabs
      • property panes, click on
    the
      • its tab, which shows the name of the item.
      • To keep a property
    tab
      • pane open, click the 
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         icon in its
    tab. To unpin a property
      • tab, then click the 
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         icon to then close it.
      • To view
    tabs
      • panes side-by-side, drag
    the
      • a property
    tab
      • pane onto the workspace. This creates a second
    properties area
      • right panel. You can create
    several property areas
      • multiple right panels and you can drag
    properties tabs
      • property panes between them.
      • To close a property tab, click on the white cross on the tab.
      • To resize the right panel, drag its border line.

    Every properties

    tab

    pane has a toolbar at the top, next to the item name. If the item name is long, toolbar icons are condensed into a 

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    toolbar

    more_

    squashed

    options
    _

    toolbar

    more_

    squashedIf you do not want to show the help panel again, tick the check box at the bottom of the panel. To subsequently show the panel, go to  Insert excerpt_user_details_user_detailsnopaneltrue and tick the Show the Help Tab on Startup check box.To open the help about the options in a properties tab, click 

    options
    nopaneltrue
     icon.

    For information about the properties tabs and their toolbar options, see Menu Options and Toolbar Buttons.

    Accessing Help

    When you first log into PhixFlow in  Insert excerpt_design_mode_design_modenopaneltrue, you will see a Help tab on the right, as well as the Repository tab. The Help tab provides links to the help and training.
    • The help button in the header bar will take you to the learning centre where you will find video tutorials, example data sets, template applications, as well as the ability search our extensive help library for your specific topic.
    • Item properties and windows in PhixFlow include a 
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     in
    •  icon on the toolbar
    at the top of the tab.

    When you delete a PhixFlow item it is deleted from the repository and from any model or dashboard that contains it. Deleting cannot be undone. For this reason, PhixFlow

    • always asks for confirmation that you really do want to delete an item before actually deleting it. 
    • will not delete an item when another object within PhixFlow still refers to it.
      PhixFlow notifies you about how many and what type of items still refer to the item you are trying to delete.
    In analysis models, consider using the alternative pop-up toolbar option,  Insert excerpt_remove_removenopaneltrue. This removes the modelling object from the model, but it remains in the repository.To delete an item completely, right-click any item to display its context menu and click  Insert excerpt_delete_deletenopaneltrue

    Selecting and Deleting Items

    Either in the repository or in dashboards or models, you can click an item to select it. A selected item is highlighted. Also the highlighting on any previously selected items is cleared.

    There are several places in PhixFlow where you can make a change to several items at the same time, for example deleting items. To select a continuous subset of items in a list,

    1. Select the first item on the list.
    2. Hold down the Shift key.
    3. Then select the last item.

    To select several items separately, press the Control (Ctrl) key as you click the different items. This will add each item to the list of selected items. If you click on an item that is already selected, it is removed from the selection list. 

    Drag-and-Drop

    The user can drag-and-drop many of the items in PhixFlow. What happens when you drag items depends on the context. In general:

    • Items can only be dragged onto a compatible location. PhixFlow does not let you drop an item if it makes no sense for the item to be in that location.
    • You can often drag multiple selected items to/from lists.
    • Items can be reordered when dragged into ordered lists. For example, the order of the items is important in the Stream Attributes.
    • In model windows, you can drag single or multiple modelling objects around the model; see Using the Model Window.
      To drag objects off the model and onto another location, select the object and then use Shift-drag.
    • One or more Stream Views can be dragged onto Dashboards to display data.
    Context Menus AnchorcontextMenucontextMenu

    Right-click any item to display its context menu. You can display a context menu when you right-click:

    • its name in the repository
    • for modelling objects, its icon in a model
    • for layout components, its representation in a dashboard
    Analysis Model objects always have the context menu entry  Insert excerpt_model_show_model_shownopaneltrue. This displays a list of all the models in which the current object exists.

    Deleting Items

    PhixFlow does not have an option to undo an action such as deletion. Take care when you use the  Insert excerpt_delete_deletenopaneltrue option as this removes the selected item from the repository. It can affect other items that also use the item you are deleting. For analysis models, it is safer to use the  Insert excerpt_remove_removenopaneltrue option, which erases the selected modelling object from the model, whilst leaving it in the repository and in other models that use it.

    Error Messages

    If you are using a PhixFlow application, the messages you see related to actions within the application are written by application designers using the Action → Confirmation Message
    • . Click the help icon to open the associated reference help page, which has details about each option.

    Notifications and Errors

    PhixFlow displays notification popups on the screen. The different coloured notifications are:

    • Green - information
    • Blue - warnings
    • Red - errors.

    You can click Dismiss notifications in the header bar to close all green and blue notifications. In

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     → System → Configuration you can set the Notification Timeout to automatically close these popups; see  System Configuration.

    If there is an error that prevents PhixFlow completing something, it will display

    the system

    a red error message.

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     You must close these messages individually. 

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    The message window can includeIfAdministrator Links
    a More Detail link to technical informationyour user account or user group has the Show Console privilege
    a button to open the log file containing the error messageyour user account or user group has the View Log Files privilege

    Report button to email the details to IT support,

    The email includes a link to the log file, so the administrator can easily access full details of the error.

    there is an IT email recipient configured in System Configuration → General settings → Error Reporting Email Address.

    Administrators monitor the details of what PhixFlow is doing using the System Console and can configure how much detail is logged; see System Monitoring and System Logging Configuration.