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What is an Event Handler?

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Overview

When creating an application, you can configure Actionflows to respond to different events, such as a mouse click, double click or enter key press. 

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hiddentrue

I want to mention somewhere that there are many different ways to create actionflows, i.e. from a button a screen or from an event handler on an area on a screen. Actionflows can be created from the main actionflows page but this is not the easiest way. Can an actionflow even be created this way? How do you add an input?

Event Handlers & Action Settings

An Event Handler is an action that responds to a specific event, such as a mouse click, double click or enter key press. The Event Handler defines how the application behaves when the event is triggered.Event handlers can be configured to respond to events by running a  Insert excerpt_action_actionnopaneltrue or , such as running an 

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The types of event handler are:

Set event handlers

Multiple event handlers can be set on the same component or field. For example, you may wish for a validation Actionflow to be triggered On Enter and On Blur.


Set Events/Actions on:
Event
Type
/ActionDescription
Supported Components
Component
Supported
Data
Fields
Field
On ClickThe user mouse clicks in an area.Area-
On Change

A toggle field changes state or the user mouse-clicks out of a data field in which they have changed data. 

Note:

this

This event is not triggered by the user typing into a field.

Area

-

Boolean

Date

Datetime

Number

String

On EnterThe user presses the Enter key in a data field.-
On Blur

The user mouse-clicks out of a data field.

The

Note: This event is triggered whether or not the data in the field has been changed.

-
TipYou do not have to configure OnClick events for button components, because button actions are always triggered when the user mouse-clicks on them.
Double ClickThe user double clicks in a grid.View
Auto SaveThe user changes data in a grid, then clicks out of the cell.View
Drag Types & Drop TargetsUser drags an item from one part of a screen, and dropping on another part.

View

Kanban

Area


Task PlanThe user starts a task plan or a task plan auto-starts according to its schedule.

On StartupThe user loads the application.


Tip

On Click events are automatically set on button components. 

Adding an Event Handler

  1. From the a screen, click on a component or field to open its properties.In
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  2. Click on the
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     and i
    n the Event Handler section, click click the 
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     to  icon to create a new event handler.
  3. PhixFlow opens a new properties tab for the event handler.
  4. Select the Event Type, Action Method and specific table-action or actionflow you require; see the properties below.
Event Handler
  1. In the New Event Handler 

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    , select an Event Type

    Tip

    Only events available for this type of component will show - see Event Types table above.


  2. For Action Method, select Actionflow, then click the 
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     icon to create a new Actionflow or click the 
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     icon to display a list of available Actionflows

Adding Action Settings

  1. From a screen, right-click on a grid and press 
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  2. On the View's

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Basic Settings

FieldDescriptionEvent Type

Select the type of event that will trigger an action:

  • OnClick
  • OnEnter
  • OnBlur
  • OnChange.

The list shows only the events available for this type of component.

Action Method

Available when Event Type is selected.

Select the type of action:

  • Table-Action
  • No action
  • Actionflow
  • Other
Action

Available when Action Method is Table-Action.

  • Either, select a table-action from the drop-down list
  • Or, to find table-actions belonging to a specific table:Click  Insert excerpt_table_list_table_listnopaneltrue to show tables in the repository
  • Expand the table.
  • Drag a table-action from the list into this box.
  • Actionflow

    Available when Action Method is Actionflow.

    To select an actionflow, do one of the following:

  • Select an actionflow from the drop-down list.
  • Click  Insert excerpt_actionflow_actionflownopaneltrue to show actionflows in the repositoryClick  Insert excerpt_add_add
    1. , click on the
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    2. In the Action Settings section, under Double Click Action, select Actionflow
    3. Click the 
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       icon to create a new Actionflow or click the 
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       icon to display a list of available Actionflows

    Worked Examples

    Here are worked examples using the Retail Data (available from the Learning Centre).

    In this example, we are using:

    • Shop Stock screen containing a grid of the Shop Stock data, a pie chart of the Shop Stock data and a grid of the Shop Departments data  - this screen was created using the Multi-Tile template
    • Shop Statistics screen containing 4 tiles with charts and graphs of the Shop Stock data - this screen was created using the Tile no Buttons template
    • Shop Customer Form screen containing form fields and associated with Shop Customers 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 Intermediate Application. For this example, we'll be working on configuring events on:

    • the Shop Stock screen to open the Shop Statistics screen
    • the Shop Customer Form to display a specified text string

    Example 1: Configuring an On Click Event

    In this example, we'll set up an Actionflow to open a screen when an area is clicked. 

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    1. On the screen where the Actionflow will be initiated from, Shop Stock, find the area, Split Area Top (use the search in the 

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      )

    2. Click on the area to open its properties

    3. On the 
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      , in the Event Handler section, click the 
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       to create a new event handler:
      1. Event Type: select On Click
      2. Action Method: choose Actionflow
      3. Click 
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      4. Click the 
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         icon to create a new Actionflow
        1. Name: Open Shop Stock Statistics
      5. Click 
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         on the Split Area Top area properties
      6. On the Actionflow, select Click to Connect and choose an input of On Click
      7. Create an Open Screen Actionflow that opens the Shop Stock Statistics screen
        1. See 1.07 Open Screen Action Configuration

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      8. Close the Actionflow and 
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         the new event handler properties
    4. On the Split Area Top area properties, click the 
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    5. In the Style Settings section, tick Cursor and set this to Pointer (hand pointing)
      1. This indicates to your application users that this area is clickable 
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       the area properties
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       the screen and click the area to see the Actionflow in action 
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    Example 2: Configuring a Double-Click Event

    Configure a double-click action on a grid to open a screen where the selected record can be edited.

    1. On the screen where the Actionflow will be initiated from, Shop Customers, right-click on the grid and choose

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    2. On the View's

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      , click on the
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    3. In the Action Settings section, under Double Click Action, select Actionflow
    4. Click the 
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       icon to create a new Actionflow
      1. On the Actionflow, select Click to Connect and choose the Shop Customers data source 
        1. This is because we want the Shop Customers Form to open with the selected customer's details on
      2. Create an Open Screen Actionflow that opens the Shop Customer Form
        1. See 1.07 Open Screen Action Configuration

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          Remember to map across the customerID.


      3. Close the Actionflow and 
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         the view properties
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         the screen and double-click a record in the grid to see the Actionflow in action 

    Example 2: Configuring an On Change Event

    In this example, we'll set up an Actionflow to display a dynamic text string when a boolean field's state is changed (from false to true).

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    1. On the screen where the Actionflow will be initiated from, Shop Customer Form, find the True/False Field, mailingList (use the 

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    2. Click the field to open its properties

    3. On the 
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      , in the Event Handler section, click the 
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       to create a new
    actionflow; see Creating ActionflowsOther

    Available when Action Method is Other.

    Select from the drop down:

  • None
  • Clear All Fields: clears content from all form fields on the parent form
  • Close Screen: closes the parent screen
  • Maximise/Minimise Screen: toggles the screen between minimised and its default size
  • Screenshot: copies an image of the selected component to the clipboard. The required component must be dragged and dropped into the Screenshot Component box from the  Insert excerpt_layers_layersnopaneltrue or  Insert excerpt_repository_repositorynopaneltrue.
    1. event handler:
      1. Event Type: select On Change
      2. Action Method: choose Actionflow
      3. Click 
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      4. Click the 
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         icon to create a new Actionflow
    2. On the Actionflow, select Click to Connect and choose an input of On Change
    3. Using a

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       Action, create an Output Attribute containing the following string:

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      "Inform the customer that they will receive weekly emails with news and offers." 

      See 1.11 Calculate Action Configuration

    4. Create an Output Connection Point back to the Shop Customer Form screen
    5. Drag the 
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       node onto the Calculate action
    6. Drag the 
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       node onto the Calculate action
    7. Map your new Output Attribute onto the dynamic text component, checkEmailText
      1. Remember to map this both on the output connector on the canvas, and on the output connection point under Connections

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    8. Close the Actionflow and 
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       the new event handler properties
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       the True/False Field properties
    10. To test the Actionflow, close and reopen the screen, ensuring it is 
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      ed
      1. Populate the First Name and Last Name fields as these are mandatory fields and will show an error message if not populated
    11. Click the 'Would the customer like to join the mailing list?' toggle to see the Actionflow in action 


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