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What is an Open Screen Action?

The 

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 action opens new screens in PhixFlow. Open Screen actions run once per flow, or once after receiving the final record. This means that if 100 records are passed into the Actionflow, only 1 screen opens after receiving the final record (not 100 screens). 

Creating Open Screen Actions

Click the 

There are several ways to create 

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 icon

 Actionflows.

Create Actionflow for Existing Screen

Use this method where the screen that requires opening already exists.

  1. On the screen where the Actionflow will be initiated from, click 
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    s in the toolbar to display existing screens in the application
    1. Existing screens can be dragged from the Repository onto the canvas to automatically create an Open Screen node
    Alternativelyopen the list of available screens
  2. Drag and drop the required screen from the
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     onto the button that will initiate the Actionflow, or drop anywhere and PhixFlow will create the button for you

Create Actionflow and Screen

Use this method to create the Actionflow and screen at the same time.

  1. On the screen where the Actionflow will be initiated from, right-click on a button and choose
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    1. Or, click Actionflow in the header tabs, then
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  2. On the Actionflow canvas, drag the 
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     icon from the toolbar onto the canvas and follow the steps to create or open an existing screen
  3. Alternatively, click the 
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     icon in the toolbar to display existing screens in the application
    1. Existing screens can be dragged from the 
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       onto the canvas to automatically create an Open Screen node

Create Actionflow and Screen using CRUD Wizard

A Grid Actions wizard is available to automatically create certain actions on a screen, such as Creating, Reading, Updating and Deleting data. These are referred to as CRUD actions. See Configure Action Buttons on 7. Editing Content on a Screen - Part 1.

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Worked Examples

Here's a worked example using the School Data (available from the Learning Centre).We want to be able to add and edit the Courses. The first step to doing this is by creating two Open Screen Actionflows. Both will open the same screen containing an input form, but when we are adding a new course we want an empty input form, and when we are editing an existing course, we want the input form to contain course data. SCREENSHOTS?

In this example, we are using:

  • Course Management screen containing a grid of the School Courses data - this screen was created using the Tile with Buttons template
  • Course Form screen containing form fields and associated with School Courses data by a background filter - 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 Foundation Application. For this example, we'll be working on ADDING BUTTONS TO? on configuring buttons on the Course Management screen and opening to open the Course Form screen.

In this example, we are using:

  • The Course Management screen containing a grid of the School Courses data - the screen was created using the Tile with Buttons template NOT SURE WE CARE HOW ITS CREATED IN THIS COURSE?
  • The Course Form screen containing form fields and associated with School Courses data by a background filter  - the screen was created using the Edit Form template

    We want to be able to add and edit courses on a Course Management screen. The first step to doing this is by creating two Open Screen Actionflows. Both will open the same screen containing form fields, but when we are adding a new course we want empty form fields, and when we are editing an existing course, we want the form fields to contain course data.

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    To save the new or edited course, the Save Action on the Course Form screen must be configured. This is covered in 1.09 Save Action Configuration. Note: When creating a new screen in PhixFlow, a Grid Actions wizard can configure the Create, Read, Update and Delete (CRUD) actions for you. For the purposes of understanding the mechanics of Actionflows, we will create these manually. NOT SURE WE NEEED THIS PARAGRAPH, IS IT NOT COVERED IN TEH STEPS BELOW?

    Example 1: Open Screen to Add New Data

    Create an Open Screen Action that opens an empty input form.

    1. On thescreen where the Actionflow will be initiated from, Course Management, right-click on the Image Modifiedbutton and choose 

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      Expand
      titleCan't see this option?

      Make sure your screen is

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      ed.

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      If you cannot see the toolbar across the top of the screen, your screen is

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      ed. Right-click anywhere on the screen and choose 
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       the Screen.


    2. Enter a name for the Actionflow,
      1. Name: Add Course ARE WE USING A SEMI-COLON COMMA OR SPACE FOR DEFININIG VALUE ENTERED BY A USER? PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
      2. Select Confirm
    3. Click the 
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       icon in the toolbar to display the existing screens in your application
    4. Drag your pre-made 
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       input form screen, Course Form, from the Repository onto the canvas to create an 
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       node
    5. Select Click to Connect under Connections and for the input, choose the 

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       Action Event, then select Connect Input

    6. On the canvas, click and drag the 

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       icon onto the 
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       Open 
      Screen action node to connect the input to the action

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    7. Close the Actionflow to return to the screen
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       the screen and press the  button to see the Actionflow in action
      1. We can see that the Actionflow is working because it opens an empty form
    Tip
    titleWhy do we use an On Click input?

    An input of On Click means that the Actionflow is initiated by the user clicking a button. We use an input of On Click where an Actionflow does not require any data to run the action.

    In the exercise above, we are creating an Actionflow that opens a screen where new courses will be created, therefore no data needs to be transferred across to the Course Form screen when it is opened.

    Example 2: Open Screen to Edit Existing Data

    Create an Open Screen Action that opens an input form containing data from the school courses grid.

    1. On thescreen where the Actionflow will be initiated from, rightCourse Management, check it is 
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      ed
    2. Right-click on the  button and choose 
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    3. Enter a name for the Actionflow,
      1. Name: Edit Course
      2. Select Confirm
    4. Click the 
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       icon in the toolbar to display the existing screens in your application
    5. Drag your pre-made 
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       input form screen, Course Formfrom the Repository onto the canvas to create an Open Screen node
    6. Select Click to Connect and for the input, choose the School Courses View Component, then select Connect Input
    7. The Mappings window will open:
      1. Drag the CourseID attribute from the left (Grid) to into the Drag and Drop space on the right (Connection Point Interface), then click Save
    8. On the canvas, click and drag the 
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       icon onto the
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       action node to connect the input to the action
    9. Right-click the connector between the
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       node and
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       node on the canvas
    10. Choose
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       and the Mappings window will open:
      1. Drag the CourseID attribute from the left (Actionflow)

        to

        onto the CourseID attribute on the right (Screen), then click Save

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    11. Close the Actionflow to return to the screen
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       the screen and press the button to see the Actionflow in action
      1. We can see that the Actionflow is working because it displays the data from the School Courses grid in the edit form
    Tip
    titleWhy do we use a data source input?

    A data source input means that the Actionflow requires data to perform the action.

    In the exercise above, we are creating an Actionflow that opens a screen where existing courses will be edited, therefore data needs to be transferred from the School Courses grid, through the Actionflow and out to the Course Form screen.


    1.08 Mappings and ConnectorsImage Added