What are Exclusion Groups?

Exclusion Groups are used to group Actionflows and limit their ability to run at the same time.

Where multiple Actionflows have the same exclusion group, only one Actionflow will be able to run at any one time. Attempting to run a second Actionflow, with the same exclusion group, will return a warning message and the Actionflow will not run. This applies whether the Actionflow is run manually or automatically using a schedule.

Exclusion groups are evaluated before any Actionflows are started. When an Actionflow with an exclusion group is triggered, if no other Actionflow with the same exclusion group is already running then the Actionflow will continue. The action will be considered to be using this exclusion group from this point until the Actionflow has completed.

Setting Exclusion Groups

1. Open an Actionflow and open its

   Insert excerpt
   _property_settings _property_settings nopanel true

2. Under Basic Settings, populate the Exclusion Group field with any text to indicate the group
   1. This field is case insensitive and can take any free text
3. Repeat this with other Actionflows to add them to the same Exclusion Group

Image Added

Worked Example

Here's a worked example using the Company Data (available from the Learning Centre).

In this example, we are using:  

• A Company Orders screen containing two grids of the Orders and OrderLines data - this screen was created using the Multi-tile template

Stop Multiple Processes Running While Performing Data Import

In this example, we'll create an Actionflow to import the AdditionalCompanies_Processed data and add the Status of New to each company on that table before adding it to the Companies table. We'll add this Actionflow to an Exclusion Group with other Actionflows on the same screen so that other processes cannot be triggered while the import is taking place.

Actionflow Setup

1. Open the Company Approval Review screen
2. Create an Actionflow on the Import button to import the AdditionalCompanies_Processed data
   1. Name: ImportCompanies 
   2. If you have completed the Actionflow Intermediate Course, chapter 2.15 Analysis Action Configuration, this Actionflow setup is similar
3. Configure an input of On Click
4. Add a

   Insert excerpt
   _action_calculate _action_calculate nopanel true

    action to the canvas and connect
   1. Name: Add Details
5. Connect the 

   Insert excerpt
   _input _input nopanel true

    node to itthe Calculate action
6. On the Calculate action, add the following Output Attribute that will be used to update the Status of all imported companies:
   1. Name: Status
   2. Type: String
   3. Expression: "New"
7. On the Calculate action, add another Output Attribute that will be used to add a 20 second delay into the Actionflow, this will simulate a large data import and allow time to trigger the Actionflow twice:
   1. Name: Delay
   2. Type: Integer
   3. Expression: sleep(20)
      1. This will add a delay into the Actionflow for demonstration purposes. See sleep
8. Add a 

   Insert excerpt
   _action_analysis _action_analysis nopanel true

    action to the canvas
9. On its Properties, in the Tables section, click the 

   Insert excerpt
   _tables _tables name icon nopanel true

    icon
   1. Drag across the AdditionalCompanies_Processed table from the Repository to the Analysis action properties

10. Connect the Calculate action to the Analysis action and map across the Status attribute

    Expand
    title Checkpoint

    
    

Table Attributes Setup

1. On the Analysis Model, Actionflow Advanced Data, click on the table, AdditionalCompanies_Processed
2. Double-click on the attribute, Status, and change the Expression to _context.Status
   1. This is then referring to the attribute setup on the Calculate action
      1. See Analysis Action Configuration and Internal Variables for more information on the internal variable _context 
3. Save the Analysis Model

Combine Data & Display 

1. On the Actionflow, create a 

   Insert excerpt
   _action_view _action_view nopanel true

    action with the Primary Table, AdditionalCompanies_Processed, and connect the Analysis action to the View action
   1. In its the Properties for the View, in the Data Retrieval Options section, set the Data Range to Latest
      1. This will ensure that this data isn't continuously added if the Actionflow is run repeatedly
   2. For the Output Attributes section, click the 

      Insert excerpt
      _attributes_icon _attributes_icon nopanel true

       icon and drag across all attributes
   3. Save the properties
2. Create a 

   Insert excerpt
   _action_save _action_save nopanel true

    action to save the data to the Companies table
   1. In its Properties, in the Basic Settings section, set the Type to Insert and

      Insert excerpt
      _toggle_on _toggle_on nopanel true

       toggle on Auto Save Attributes
3. Connect the View to the Save action and map across all attributes

   1. 

      1. Note: Map the attribute, Status from the View action (not the Calculate action) and map the attribute Name to CompanyName

Setting the Exclusion Group

1. Open the Actionflow 

   Insert excerpt
   _property_settings _property_settings nopanel true

    
   1. Under Basic Settings, populate the Exclusion Group field with any text, e.g. Import
   2. Image Modified

Add Actionflow to Import Button on Companies Screen

1. Add the same Actionflow to the Import button the Company Management screen

    the Actionflow tab
   Open the Company Management screen and drag the highlighted Actionflow icon from the Repository pinned tab onto the Import button

   1. Image Added 
   2. This will create another instance of the same Actionflow
   3. Configure the Input of On Click 

   Expand
   title How?
   On the ImportCompanies Actionflow, open the  Insert excerpt _property_settings _property_settings nopanel true , hover over the  using the toolbar option and Insert excerpt _more_optionspin _more_options name icon pin nopanel true  icon and choose
   Insert excerpt
   _repository_find	_repository_find
   nopanel	true

   
   

Testing

1. Open the Company Approval Review and Company Management screens
2. Ensure both screens are 

   Insert excerpt
   _lock _lock nopanel true

   ed
3. Click Import on one screen then press Import on the other screen
4. A warning message should appear

Image Modified