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 App 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 set up 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 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 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
??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 icon in the top left. The 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??
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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:
- Designing Screens
- Creating Workflows
- Configuring Actionflows
- Defining data structures and relationships in Entity Relationship Diagrams
- Setting up complex data processing using Analysis Models
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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Application users run PhixFlow applications in this mode.
PhixFlow displays only essential menus and toolbars in
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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:
- Double-click anywhere in a card or on a list line
- PhixFlow asks you to confirm
- 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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Using Applications on Mobile Devices
PhixFlow supports mobile devices, such as tablets and phones. This means team members can access and update data whilst
on the
move. As mobile devices have less screen space available, the header bar is simplified to show the icons:
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options _user_
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- option available
- depending on
- user's permissions
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.
You can return to the Welcome window at any time by clicking on ??Add dot icon Application list or PhixFlow logo in the top left. The PhixFlow logo is not present if your administrator has configured PhixFlow logo to display your company logo instead.
??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
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 continueto the Application Design Home window. FromHow to use Design Mode
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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
, PhixFlow displays the a list of the applications available to you. To return to the application menu at any time, click Insert excerpt _design_mode _design_mode nopanel true
in the top left. Insert excerpt _app_menu _app_menu nopanel true
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:
- Click anywhere in a card or on a list line
- PhixFlow asks how you would like to load the application (load in current tab, new tab or new window)
- 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
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.
The
To create a new application from the application menu, click the
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Home Window and Workspace
When you load an application, PhixFlow opens its home window.
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.
The home window has the following parts.
Header Bar
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The header bar runs across the full width of the PhixFlow Window. It shows, from left to right:
: reopen the application menu to load a different applicationInsert excerpt _app_menu _app_menu nopanel true -
: also opens the application menu. Depending on the way your administrator has configured PhixFlow, this logo may be replaced by your company logoInsert excerpt _phixflow_logo_name _phixflow_logo_name nopanel true - 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
Insert excerpt _repository _repository nopanel true - Open the Learning Centre
Insert excerpt _help _help nopanel true - Open the
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lists the system options, including theInsert excerpt _administration _administration nopanel true Insert excerpt _console _console nopanel true
- , 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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- either
- or
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- or
Could this be a slider??
The Applications Menu Bar
If the open application has it's own menu bar configured, this appears below the header bar.
Where are these now??
- the number of currently running actions
- the status of any actions,
Tabs for Open Diagrams
For every diagram or screen that you open, PhixFlow creates a new tab. You can easily switch between open items using the tabs.
Property TabsWorkspace 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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Right Panel
On the right there are several things that PhixFlow can display. You can click the
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- 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 information. To 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
on the right. Usually PhixFlow opens each property
pane in the same space and automatically closes any saved property
pane.
- To switch between
- property panes, click on
- its tab, which shows the name of the item.
- To keep a property
- pane open, click the
icon in its tabInsert excerpt _pin _pin nopanel true
- pane open, click the
- , then click the
icon to then close it.Insert excerpt _pinned _pinned nopanel true - To view
- , then click the
- panes side-by-side, drag
- a property
- pane onto the workspace. This creates a second
- right panel. You can create
- multiple right panels and you can drag
- 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
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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For information about the properties tabs and their toolbar options, see Menu Options and Toolbar Buttons.
Repository
For any task, PhixFlow provides list of the relevant items that you can use. There is also a repository, which lists the items in your application; see Using the Repository. Click the repository icon on the right edge show or hide the repository.
Notifications
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.
Accessing Help
InAccessing Help
- 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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- icon on the toolbar
Selecting and Deleting Items
Either in the repository or in diagrams, 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,
- Select the first item on the list.
- Hold down the Shift key.
- 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.
Remove from or Delete Everywhere
When you are working in diagrams and you no longer want an item to appear, you can:
- either remove it from the diagram. Use this option if you added an item that already existed in the repository and now you do not need it in your diagram.
- or delete it from this diagram and from the repository. You may want to do this if you created the item for this diagram only, and now no longer need it.
When you use Delete Everywhere, the item 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.
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.
Right-click any item to display its context menu. You can display a context menu when you right-click:
- an item's name in the repository
- for diagrams, an item's icon on the canvas
- for screens, a components.
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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If there is an error that prevents PhixFlow completing something, it will display
a red error message. You must close these messages individually.
The message window can include | If | Administrator Links |
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a More Detail link to technical information | your user account or user group has the Show Console privilege | |
a button to open the log file containing the error message | your user account or user group has the View Log Files privilege | |
a 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.